tre-m  // 
WcioT/f 


COMPLETE  IN  TEN  VOLUMES 
* — VOLUME  TWO  — ' 


The  McClure  Company 

N ew  York 
mcmviii 


Copyright,  1901,  by  E.  Burton  Holmes 
Copyright,  1908,  by  E.  Burton  Holmes 
All  rights  reserved 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


OF  ALL  European  capitals  perhaps  Paris  is  the  one  best 
known  to  Americans.  Every  one  has  heard  the  saying 
that  ‘ ‘ good  Americans  when  they  die  go  to  Paris,  ’ but  fewer 
have  heard  the  flippant  remark  of  one  of  our  younger  wits, 
that  “the  bad  ones  get  there  while  they  are  alive  ! ” Who- 
ever celebrates  the  famous  things  of  Paris  cannot  but  repeat 
what  has  been  said  a thousand  times  in  praise  of  her  museums 
and  her  monuments,  her  treasures  of  art,  her  incomparable 
avenues,  and  her  splendid  decorative  spaces.  Therefore 
in  our  ramble  about  the  city  we  shall  not  seek  the  celebrated 


6 ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


sites  familiar  even  to  those  who  have 
never  been  in  Paris,  but  instead  we 
shall  turn  aside  from  the  imposing 
thoroughfares  into  the  byways 
of  the  city.  We  pass  the  port- 
als of  palaces  and 
galleries  to  enter 
quaint  cafes  or 
cabarets ; we  are 
to  seek,  not  the 
beautiful  and  the  artis- 
tic, but  rather  the  queer 


BORDEAUX 

and  the  eccentric  feat- 
ures of  the  French 
metropolis. 

Our  starting-point 
shall  be  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde.  The 
Place  lies  at  the  inter- 
section of  the  grand 
boulevards,  Champs- 
E l y s k e s , 
Rue  de  Ri- 
voli , and  the 
quais  along 
the  river.  In 
the  distance 
rises  the  Eif- 
fel Tower. 
Like  a steel 
needle,  it 
pierces  the 


IN  1890 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


7 


downy  summer  clouds,  a frail  connecting  link  between  earth 
and  heaven,  a ladder  by  which  angels  might  descend  to  this 
earthly  paradise.  Who  can  resist  the  charm  of  Paris  ? I 
confess  that  I cannot.  To  me  it  is  a pleasure  simply  to  be 
in  Paris.  I can  sympathize  with  the  feelings  of  Du  Maurier’s 
hero,  “Little  Billee, ’’  with  his  joy  at  being  “in  the  very 
midst  of  Paris,  to  live  there,  and  learn  there,  as  long  as 
he  liked.  ’ ’ With 
every  recurring 
visit,  I find  that, 
like  him,  I gaze 
on  it  with  a sense 
of  novelty,  an  in- 
terest and  a pleas- 
ure for  which  I 
can  find  no  ex- 
pression in  words. 

Like  Du  Maurier, 

I,  too,  exclaim, 

“Paris,  Paris, 

Paris  ! The  very 
name  has  been 
one  to  conjure 
with,  whether  we 
think  of  it  as  a mere  sound  on  the  lips  and 
in  the  ear,  or  as  a magical  written  or  printed  word  for  the 
eye.”  We  may,  it  is  true,  look  askance  at  the  people  as 
typified  by  the  Parisians  of  the  cafes  and  the  boulevards  ; we 
may  be  repelled  by  many  sights  and  sounds,  by  many  of  the 
customs,  habits,  vices  of  the  French  ; but  Paris,  the  city 
itself,  is  dear  to  us  because  of  the  subtle  sympathetic  charm 
which  it  possesses.  The  life  of  Paris  is  a continuous  per- 
formance in  which  the  actors,  trained  in  comedy  and  farce, 
are  now  and  then  tempted  to  make  essay  in  tragic  roles. 


8 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


THE  TERRACE  OF  THE  TU1LERIES 


But  even  in  the  tragedies  of  Paris  there  is  always  the  dis- 
cordant note,  an  echo  of  the  farce.  What  more  appalling 
spectacle  than  Paris  grinning  through  the  Reign  of  Terror,  of 


its  mobs  laughing  at  the  horrors 
upon  this  very  stage  now  named 
Peace  ! Who  is  not  familiar  with 
the  features  of  this  square  ? Here  is 
the  silent  Egyptian  obelisk,  a sister 
shaft  to  those  which  rise  in  New 
York,  in  Rome,  and  in  London, — 
all  three  compelling  our  thoughts  to 
that  far-distant  but  inevitable  day 
when  the  abandoned 
sites  of  cities  now 
great  shall  be  as  drear 
and  silent  as  the  sands 
which  mark  the  place 
where  in  pride  of  life 

stnnrl  T.nvnr  thnn. 


enacted  here 
the  Place  of 


STRASBURG 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


9 


The  boisterous  fountains  strive,  vainly  or  successfully,  accord- 
ing to  our  mood,  to  teach  forgetfulness  of  the  inevitable, 
and  seem  to  sing  that  Paris,  having  been,  will  ever  be. 
Around  the  squares,  in  statuesque  impressiveness,  sit  the 
heroic  figures  representing  eight  great  cities  of  the  French 
Republic.  With  calm,  almost  contemptuous  mien  they  look 


FRANCE  CANNOT  FORGET 

down  on  the  pomp 
and  gaiety  of  the  envied 
capital.  But  Paris  regards  with  indifference  all 
save  one — the  one  that  represents  the  captive  sister,  Stras- 
burg.  To  her  each  year  the  various  societies  whose  mission 
it  is  to  nurse  the  lusty  patriotism  of  the  French,  bring 
mourning-wreaths  and  funeral-offerings,  and  with  these  deck 
the  monument  in  memoriam  of  the  great  loss  of  Alsace  and 


IO 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


Lorraine,  in  proof  of  the  oft-voiced  and  bitter  cry  that 
France  will  not,  cannot  forget. 

Frequently  in  early  morning  I crossed  this  square,  bound 
for  a cycling  spin  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.  No  lumbering 
sprinkling-cart  here  turns  to  anger  the  joy  of  the  blithesome 
cyclist,  yet  the  Parisian  substitute  is  quite  as  effective  in  ren- 
dering pavements  slippery.  An  employe  in  uniform  calmly 
promenades  about  the  square,  dragging  in  his  wake  what 


EARLY  SPRINKLING 

appears  to  be  a many-sectioned  snake  on  roller- 
skates, a tubular  reptile  that  writhes  across  the  street 
laying  the  dust  of  Paris  with  its  hissing  breath  and  barring  all 
wheel  traffic  as  effectually  as  if  it  were  a wall  of  stone.  The 
man  in  charge  serenely  transforms  the  perfect,  cleanly  pave- 
ment into  a shallow  lake  ; cab  horses  slip  and  fall  ; cyclists 
dismount  in  despair  ; but  still  the  sprinkler  sprinkles,  for 
the  dust  of  Paris  must  be  laid  before  the  fashionable 
driving-hour. 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


13 


ing  the  river, 
we  loiter  along  the 

A BOOKSTORE  TWO  MILES  LONG 

shaded  q u a 1 . We 

have  resolved  that  we  are  not  here  in  Paris  to 

visit  one  by  one  the  things  which  Baedeker  has  marked  with 

double  stars  in  his  red  books  — those  useful  little  guides 

which  tourists  feign  to  despise 
while  knowing  that  they 
are  invaluable.  Rather 
are  we  here  as 
returned  travel- 
ers ; and,  know- 
ing our  Paris, 
we  are  at  liberty 
to  turn  aside 
from  the 
grand  ave- 
nues and  the 


WHERE  LITERATURE  LURKS 


14 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


GOING  TO  FIRST  COMMUNION 

famous  monuments  to  seek  other  things,  less  beautiful  per- 
haps, but  also  less  familiar.  We  may  spend  delightful  hours 
at  the  book-stalls  on  the  quais  where  an  outdoor  bookshop, 
two  miles  or  more  in  length,  stretches  from  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  to  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame.  Many  a youth  in 
the  course  of  daily  wanderings  along  the  quai,  dipping  in 
dusty  tomes  and  thumbing  portfolios  of  prints,  has  absorbed, 
almost  unconsciously,  a liberal  education,  paying  for  it  no 
more  than  the  idler  pays  for  an  aimless  ramble.  This  is  a 


LE  MUSEF.  DE  CLUN’Y 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


15 


public  library,  not  only  free  but  most  accessible,  where  he 
who  walks  may  read.  The  dealers  lease  sections  of  the 
parapet  at  so  much  per  metre.  A second-hand  book  usually 
begins  its  experience  in  the  aristocratic  five-franc  box  ; then, 
as  time  passes  and  it  is  not  sold,  it  begins  a series  of  east- 
ward migrations,  finding  itself  with  each  succeeding  change 
of  residence  among  volumes  rated  at  more  modest  prices. 


EVOLUTION  OF  A NEW  AVENUE 


At  last  the  two-sou  box  is  reached,  the  ultimate  abiding- 
place  of  richly  bound  tomes  on  theology  and  by-gone  history  ; 
while  Zola,  Daudet,  and  de  Maupassant  rarely  get  below 
the  two-franc  box  before  their  tattered  yellow-paper  covers 
attract  some  willing  purchaser. 

Old  Paris  now  and  then  peers  out  upon  its  modern  self 
on  this  historic  left  bank  of  the  Seine.  Nowhere  does  it 
more  boldly  show  its  noble,  timeworn,  restful  face  than  in 
the  narrow  street  where  the  structure  raised  by  the  old  monks 
of  Cluny  welcomes  the  traveler  to  its  open  door.  Within  is 


16  ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 

a museum  which  tells  of  the  past,  of  medieval  times,  or  of 
antiquity.  Upon  this  site  the  Romans  built  a palace  sixteen 
centuries  ago  ; here,  in  the  year  360,  the  Roman  legionaries 
made  an  emperor  of  Julian  ; here  was  the  early  seat  of  Frank- 
ish Monarchy,  when  Paris  was  but  a walled  island  in  the  river, 
and  the  teeming  Latin  Quarter  of  to-day  was  a green  country- 
side, its  only  houses  being  dwelling-places  of  monks  and  kings. 


THE  " BOWERY  " OF  PARIS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


1 7 


While  lingering  here  we  may  witness  a pretty  parade  of 
innocence.  Like  a sweet  passing  vision  of  the  days  that 
were,  a procession  of  little  girls  Hit  swiftly  by.  Their  robes 
are  as  white  as  their  souls,  their  veils  are  fluttering  as  softly 
as  their  little  hearts,  for  to  them  this  is  the  day  of  days,  the 
day  of  the  “ First  Communion.  Behind  them  two  women, 
black-robed  and  serene,  scarcely  relieved  against  the  high 
somber  wall,  are  treading  in  shadow  ; but  where  the  white 
slippers  of  light-footed  maidenhood  touch  the  rough  street, 
there  the  sunshine  has  turned  all  the  pavement  to  gold. 

From  these  peaceful  side-streets,  brooding  places  of  the 
spirits  of  dead  years  and  centuries,  we  may  turn  into  wider, 
busy  streets,  where  Old  Paris,  like  an  ancient  belle,  strives 
by  the  aid  of  paint  and  ribbons  to  make  herself  look  young 
again  — with  the  same  sad  result  that  always  follows  an 
attempt  to  masquerade  before  the  world.  Paris  shows  her 
wrinkles  in  spite  of  daubed  facades  and  the  multi-colored 


2 


1 8 ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


awnings.  This  tawdri- 
ness grates  upon  the 
senses  of  those  who  ex- 
pected to  find  all  the 
streets  of  Paris  as  stately 
and  refined  in  aspect  as 
the  Rue  de  la  Paix  and 
the  Avenue  de  1' Opfo'a. 
But  the  creation  of  elegant 
new  avenues,  pierced  in 
grand,  straight  lines  right 
through  the  labyrinth  of 
the  Paris  of  the  olden 
times  still  goes  on  ; the 
demolishing  fury  let  loose 
by  Baron  Haussmann 
under  Napoleon  III  half  a century  ago  has  not  yet  spent  its 
force.  The  condemnation  of  property,  demolition  of  old 
musty  buildings, 


and  opening  of 
fine  new  streets 
proceeds  uninter- 
ruptedly. A few 
years  more,  and 
all  the  scars  re- 
sulting from  op- 
erations of  this 
nature  will  be 
concealed  behind 
long  rows  of  uni- 
form  apartment 
buildings  with 
monotonous  fa- 
9ades  and  grace- 


BARTHOLDI’S  LION 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


19 


ful  balconies.  But 
the  work  of  Paris  is 
not  always  done  for 
display.  Far  under- 
ground, unseen,  un- 
noted, vast  schemes 
for  the  welfare  of  the 
city  are  being  carried 
forward  to  comple- 
tion. Though  the 
comparison  may 
seem  a profanation, 
a visit  to  the  sewers 
of  Paris  has  almost 
a Venetian  charm. 
We  glide  in  boats 
between  dark  walls  ; 


the  air  we  breathe  is 
not  more  heavy  than 
that  of  the  narrower 
waterways  of  Ven- 
ice ; the  cool  damp- 
ness and  the  mysteri- 
ous darkness  of  the 
place,  the  flare  of 
torches,  and  the 
sound  of  flowing 
waters,  help  the  im- 
agination to  trans- 
form the  tunnel-walls 
into  foundations  of 
old  palaces.  There 
are  seven  hundred 
miles  of  those  dim 


THE  CATACOMBS 


OSSEOUS  WALLS 


20 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


corridors,  curving  and  meeting  beneath  the  streets  of  Paris. 
Those  swift,  invisible  canals,  if  connected  end  to  end,  would 
form  a waterway  so  long  that  on  it  we  could  perform  in 
the  boats  a journey  as  long  as  from  the  Palace  of  the  Louvre 
by  the  Seine  to  the  Doge’s  Palace  by  the  Adriatic. 

A visit  to  the  sewers  will  suggest  another  and  more  grew- 
some  subterranean  excursion,— a visit  to  the  Catacombs  of 
Paris.  Not  far  from  the  challenging  presence  of  the  noble 


lion  of  Bartholdi,  a monument  dedicated  to  the  idea  of 
National  Defense,  we  find  the  gateway  of  an  unseen  city  of 
the  dead,  vaster  and  more  populous  than  any  of  the  cata- 
combs of  Italy.  Originally  limestone-quarries  dating  from 
the  Roman  days,  these  Catacombs  received  the  bones  disin- 
terred from  old  cemeteries  in  1786.  Then,  when  the  Reign 
of  Terror  came,  it  hid  the  bodies  of  its  victims  in  this  same 
labyrinth  of  death.  Later,  by  order  of  Napoleon,  the  bones 
and  skulls  of  nameless  thousands  were  arranged  in  orderly 


LES  HALLES  CENTRALES 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


23 


embankments,  so  that  to-day  the  visitor  may  walk  for  miles 
between  unbroken  walls  of  human  bones,  between  intermin- 
able triple  rows  of  skulls  bereft  of  lower  jaws.  We  note  that 
not  a few  of  the  skulls  exhibit  evidences  of  a violent  death, 
a tiny  bullet-hole  or  a crushed  frontal  bone.  How  many 
bodies  have  contributed  to  the  building  of  these  ghastly  walls  ? 
How  many  bony  faces  stare  at  him  who  traverses  all  these 
winding  corridors  of  death  ? We  are  told  that  these  name- 


AFTER  MARKET-HOURS 


less  dead  number  at  least  four  millions.  The  sleeping  popu- 
lation of  these  labyrinthine  quarries  outnumbers,  almost  two 
to  one,  the  waking  population  of  the  upper  city. 

There  is  an  interesting  quarter  of  Paris  which  is  wide- 
awake, while  all  the  rest  of  the  great  city  sleeps  its  soundest 
sleep,  during  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  It  is  what 
Zola  calls  the  “ stomach  of  Paris,  ” the  Halles  Centrales, 
the  largest,  liveliest  market  in  the  city.  The  vast  market- 
building has  a floor  area  of  more  than  twenty  acres,  and 


24 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


THE  ENTREPOT  DE  BERCY 


through  it  run  five  broad  streets.  Every  morning  in  the  year 
customers  pay  into  the  cash-drawers  of  the  wholesale  dealers 
about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  ; yet  this  is  but  a fraction 
of  the  daily  food-bill  of  Paris,  for  the  great  city  spends  for 
food  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  every  day.  Throughout 
the  night  and  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  long  rivers  of 
produce,  meat,  and  fish  empty  into  the  surrounding  square, 
until  at  sunrise  this  sea  of  edibles  overflows  into  the  neigh- 
boring streets,  and  every  inch  of  sidewalk  and  of  pavement 
within  a radius  of  half  a mile  is  flooded  four  feet  deep  with 
garden-truck.  Amid  the  waves  of  green  the  licensed  porters, 
the  famous  “ strong  men  ” of  the  market,  bearing  baskets  on 
their  backs,  navigate  like  ferry-boats  between  these  isles  of 
food  and  the  retailers’  wagons  ranged  like  a row  of  docks 
around  the  shores  of  this  gastronomic  gulf.  When  the  tide 
has  reached  its  height,  turned  and  ebbed  away,  influenced 
by  moonlike  gleams  of  big  round  silver  coins,  the  bed  of  this 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS  25 

emptied  gulf  is  strewn  with  rejected  vegetables  and  worthless 
greens,  a mass  of  refuse  six  inches  deep  and  a half  mile 
across.  In  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  this  disappears 
before  the  systematic  advance  of  a well-drilled  army  of  scav- 
engers, and  when  the  merchants  or  the  bankers  come  at  nine 
or  ten  o’clock  to  open  shop  or  office,  they  find  the  streets  of 
the  entire  quarter  as  clean  as  if  no  market  had  been  held. 
The  transformation  is  complete  ; the  kitchen-garden  becomes 
a dignified,  well-ordered  business  thoroughfare.  Two  hours 
later,  at  dejeuner  in  one  of  those  well-managed,  inexpensive, 
excellent  hotels  of  Paris,  we  see  the  eggs  and  chops  and 
lettuce  purchased  by  our  steward  at  the  Halles , served  a la 
table  d'hdte,  the  eggs  disguised  in  dainty,  Frenchy  costumes, 
the  chops  tricked  out  with  spotless  paper  frills  and  ruffles. 


AU  BON  MARCHE 


26 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


the  lettuce  dressed  as  only  a Frenchman  can  dress  it,  the 
“ all-together  ” perfectly  delicious,  thanks  to  the  skill  of  one 
of  those  white-crowned  and  white-robed  benefactors  of  the 
human  race,  a Paris  chef.  For  who  will  deny  the  civilizing 
influence  of  the  Paris  chef,  and  who  will  dispute  his  right  to 
bear,  consistently,  without  shade  of  incongruity,  the  title 
“ artist  ” ? As  for  the  wine  served  free  at  luncheon  and  din- 
ner, it  is  good  wine  ; not  costly,  but  so  good  in  quality  that 
no  one  thinks  of  asking  for  a better.  Much  of  it  comes  from 
the  Entrepot  de  Bercy , the  principal  reservoir  for  the 
drinkables  of  Paris.  Curiously  enough,  in  France  we  pay  so 
much  for  a good  dinner,  and  the  wine  is  given  us  free  of 
charge  ; while  in  America  we  pay  so  much  for  a little  glass  of 
firewater,  and  the  food  is  given  us  under  the  charitable  title 
of  “free  lunch.’’  Turning  from  wet  goods  to  dry  goods,  we 
find  that  in  Paris  “drygoods”  on  feminine  lips  translates 
itself  “ Au  Bon  Marche , ” literally  “At  the  Good  Market,” 


NO  LACK  OF  CABS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


2 7 


AVENUE  DU  BOIS  DE  BOULOGNE 


more  properly,  the  place  where  things  are  sold  “ an  bon 
marchk,  ” or  at  the  lowest,  fairest  price.  Because  of  the 
phenomenal  development  of  the  department-stores  in  our 
own  cities  the  Bon  Marche  does  not  impress  the  American 
to-day  as  it  did  thirty  years  ago.  But  this  is  the  original 
Big  Store,  the  parent  of  our  bigger  stores,  and  therefore 
justly  famous.  Famous,  too,  because  three  generations  of 
American  mothers  have  spent  there  the  hard-earned  dollars 
of  our  fathers.  For  superhuman  politeness,  commend  me  to 
the  clerks  of  this  establishment.  It  is  upon  these  poor  unfor- 
tunates that  nearly  every  one  of  our  straw-hatted,  shirt- 
waisted  American  girls,  fearless  of  the  consequences,  essays 
her  untried  Gallic  vocabulary.  Yet,  with  a face  that  spells 
attention  and  respect,  the  Frenchman  listens,  and  when  the 
inevitable  hesitation  comes,  supplies  the  needed  word,  for 


28 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


from  long  experience  he  knows  precisely  what  the  foreigner 
wishes  to  say. 

The  cabman  of  Paris  is  the  traveler’s  best  friend  and  his 
worst  enemy.  There  is  no  lack  of  cabs  in  Paris.  To  be 
convinced  of  this  attempt  to  cross  the  Champs-Elysees  at 
the  hour  when  the  tide  sets  toward  the  Bois.  It  is  war  to 
the  death  between  the  innately  stolid  cabby  and  the  pedes- 
trian, who  (necessarily)  is  nimble.  The  fencing-master  does 


BLOOMERS 

not  ply  his  foil  more  skilfully  than  does  the  cabby  with  his 
shaft  lunge  at  the  breast  of  his  sworn  adversary,  the  man 
who  does  not  ride  but  tries  to  walk,  and  when  the  cabby, 
like  Cyrano,  exclaims  “Je  touche  I ” his  victim  is  — arrested 
on  the  charge  of  interfering  with  the  “circulation  ’’  ! In 
earlier  days  a wise  old  law  held  the  jehu  responsible  for  such 
hurt  as  was  inflicted  by  the  front  wheels  of  his  vehicle,  but  if 
it  were  proved  that  the  victim  died  under  the  hind  wheels  of 
the  cab,  the  driver  was  acquitted  of  all  blame. 


AU  BOIS  DE  BOULOGNE 


■ i V 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


3i 


The  summer  season  is  not  the  time  to  visit  Paris  if  one 
cares  to  see  the  rank  and  fashion  of  the  capital.  The  gor- 
geous pageant  of  well-appointed  traps  that  may  be  witnessed 
here  in  May  or  early  June  has  been  succeeded  by  an  endless 
river  of  cabs  filled  with  delighted  strangers  doing"  Paris  to 
their  hearts’  content,  and  hired  coaches  with  parties  of 
Americans  en  route  for  Versailles  or  St.  Cloud.  No  splendid 
turnouts,  powdered  lackeys,  and  grandes  dames  / They, 


have  for 

the  present  left 

this  stage  to  play  at  the  fete  de  neuilly 

their  parts  at  Trouville  or  some  other  fashionable  resort. 
The  annual  foreign  invasion  has  commenced.  In  1870  the 
Prussians  captured  Paris  ; but  the  Americans  have  captured 
and  occupied  it  annually  ever  since.  And  every  company  of 
the  invading  army  brings  bicycles  ; for  the  charms  of  cycling 
life  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  have  been  sung  throughout 
America.  The  Bois  is  a paradise  for  cyclists.  Certain  ave- 


32 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


OH,  LISTEN  TO  THE  BAND! 

niies  are  now  reserved  for  them,  and  many  cafes  and  restau- 
rants cater  exclusively  to  those  who  ride  the  wheel.  In  Paris 
there  are  daily  papers  devoted  to  the  interests  of  cycling,  while 
the  Touring  Club,  which  every  visiting  lover  of  the  wheel 
should  join,  is  working  wonders.  This  club  is  compelling 
railways  to  accept  and  carry  wheels  as  baggage,  and  to  provide 
proper  racks  for  their  safe  transportation,  simplifying  the  an- 
noying formalities  at  every  Continental  custom-house,  forcing 
the  proprietors  of  inns  and  hotels  in  the  country  towns  to  keep 
their  houses  clean  and  fit  for  visitors  of  a class  that  did  not 
patronize  them  until  the  advent  of  the  wheel  brought  back  a 
semblance  of  the  old  post-road  days.  No  cyclist  touring  on 
the  perfect  highways  of  the  continent  can  afford  to  be  with- 
out a card  of  membership  in  the  Touring  Club  of  France. 
It  assures  him  a discount  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


33 


on  almost  everything 
he  buys,  from  tire-tape 
to  dinners  at  a village 
table  (/’hole.  Ladies 
also  may  join  the  club, 
although  the  constitu- 
tional clause  regarding 
them  demands  that 
every  w o m a n shall 
send  in  with  her  ap- 
plication the  written 
consent  of  her  hus- 
band or  of  her  lawful 
guardian.  There  is  a 
relief  for  the  footsore  notable  lack  of  ladies 

drop-frame  bicycles,  for  Parisiennes  wear  costumes  that  per- 
mit them  to  bestride  the  ordinary  wheel.  A wheeling-costume 
comprising  a skirt  would  attract  much  attention,  so  generally 
has  the  knickerbocker  been  adopted  by  the  French  women. 

A visit  to  the  Fair  in  the  neighboring  suburb  of  Neuilly  is 
a picturesque  experience.  The  Avenue  dc  Neuilly  is  a 


34 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


suburban  pro- 
longation of  the 
Champs-Elysees.  It  is 
transformed  every  sum- 
mer into  a Gallic  “Midway,”  an 
interminable  fair,  a place  of  recrea- 
tion for  the  bourgeoisie  of  Paris  and  the 
surrounding  towns.  Every  imaginable  de- 
vice for  catching  pennies  is  there  in  operation.  The  public 
at  every  turn  is  assailed  by  mountebanks,  showmen,  and 
peddlers,  or  tempted  by  the  gingerbread,  the  waffles,  or  the 
cakes,  of  which  vast  quantities  are  daily  consumed.  Merry- 
go-rounds,  roller-coasters,  and  automatic  swings  dispose  the 
passerby  to  dizziness.  The  latest  inventions  of  the  day  are 
here  on  exhibition,  and  the  French  pay  a willing  tribute  to 
the  inventive  genius  of  the  Yankee,  listening  with  delight  to 
the  squeaking  of  the  phonograph.  We  may  stroll  for  almost 
two  miles  between  unbroken  ranks  of  side-shows,  tiny  cir- 
cuses and  canvas  theaters,  tents  or  booths  of  fortune-tellers 
and  clairvoyants,  and  counters  for  the  sale  of  food  and 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


35 


drink  and  merchandise  of  every  conceivable  variety. 
When  footsore  with  much  walking,  relief  may  be  had  at 
modest  cost.  One  franc  entitles  you  to  treatment  by 
a “professor”  of  chiropody,  who  meantime  lectures  on 
your  case  to  an  interested  if  uncomprehending  clinical 
audience.  Business  with  him  thrives  best  upon  the  eve  of 
the  National  Fete  of  France,  the  14th  of  July.  You  know 


A “ COLONNE " 


36 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


A GALLIC  TYSON 


how  it  is  celebrated  — with  the  feet  — upon  the  pave  of 
Paris.  From  morn  till  morn  comes  round  again,  all  Paris 
dances  in  the  street.  Every  precinct  has  its  local  gathering 
where  music  of  the  most  atrocious  kind  is  furnished.  The 
passing  cabs  and  busses  do  not  interrupt  the  dancing,  but 


MODEL  THEATERS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


37 


frequently  dancers  in  the  Latin  Quarter  will  mob  cab-drivers 
who  attempt  to  force  their  way  through  the  open-air  ball- 
room. Sometimes  a dozen  men  and  women  will  seize  the 
back  of  a Victoria,  and  jounce  the  occupants  up  and  down 
so  furiously  that  they  are  glad  to  turn  about  and  try  another 
street.  In  a comprehensive  drive,  during  that  festival  night, 
to  the  many  centers  of  celebration,  we  found  the  population 
dancing  with  equally  evident  enjoyment  on  the  asphalt  of 
broad  avenues  and  the  rough  cobble-stones  of  narrow 
by-ways.  The  dancers  were  as  various  as  the  pavements. 

Paris  has  solved  the  problem  of  the  bill-board  nuisance, 
as  she  has  solved  innumerable  municipal  problems,  artisti- 
cally and  well.  At  frequent  intervals  along  the  better  class  of 
streets  we  find  little  “ Colo/nies , ” or  columns,  the  notices  on 
which  will  tell  us  plainly  all  we  wish  to  know  about  the  plays 
and  players  on  the  local  stage.  The  theaters  being  scattered 
far  and  wide,  we  find  in  almost  every  quarter  an  agency  for 
theater-tickets,  a much  bepostered  institution.  Of  course  a 


CAFES  CHANTANTS 


38 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


t 


THE  SACRED  HEART  IN  1890 


premium  is  charged  on  tickets  pur- 
chased through  the  agencies,  but 
this  is  compensated  for  by  the 
time  and  the  cab-fare  saved. 
In  fact,  an  extra  charge  is 
made  at  the  theater  box- 
office  if  we  desire  to  re- 
serve seats  in  advance. 
The  “arm-chairs  of  the 
orchestra,’’  as  parquet 
seats  are  called,  cost  ten 
francs  each,  if  we  take 
them  4 ‘ en  location that 
is,  if  we  engage  them  in  ad- 
vance ; while  if  the  seats  be 
purchased  on  the  evening  of  the  play, 
the  price  is  nine  francs  ; but  in  this 
latter  case  we  receive  only  a card  of  admission  to  the  orches- 
tra, and  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  old  woman  usher,  who 
assigns  to  us  such  seats  as  may  not  have  been  “lone," 
“rented,’’  according  to  her  will  and  to  the  size  of  the  fee 
which  we  bestow  upon  her,  ostensibly  in  payment  for  the 
programs.  In  selecting  seats  we  refer,  not  to  a diagram, 
but  to  a little  model  of  the  auditorium.  Sometimes,  as  I 
have  had  good  cause  to  know,  seats,  which  in  the  model 
appear  to  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  are  found  to  be  located  in 
reality  behind  fat  posts  whence  one  may  view  the  stage  only 
at  the  cost  of  a stretched  and  twisted  neck.  In  summer 
the  Parisian  theaters  are  insufferably  stuffy,  whence  the 
great  popularity  of  those  out-of-door  temples  of  vaudeville, 
the  “ Cafes  Chantants"  of  the  Champs- Elysdes.  The 
“Cafe  of  the  Ambassadors  ’’  is  perhaps  the  brightest  of 
them  all.  At  night  these  cafes  glow  like  monster  creations 
of  pyrotechnic  genius,  the  glare  from  countless  gas-jets 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


39 


giving  to  the  trees  an  unreal,  stagy  look.  Within,  people  are 
dining  on  covered  balconies,  or  sipping  cordials  and  coffee  in 
the  parquet  chairs  below,  while  on  the  stage  inane  buffoons 
and  talentless  soubrettes  kill  time  and  harmony,  and  kick 
until  the  one  bright  star  of  that  dim  constellation  rises  and 
Yvette  Guilbert  appears.  She  sings  ; we  listen,  wondering 
at  the  art  which  can  make  poetry  of  that  which  is  not  fit  for 
the  ears  of  innocence.  The  native  home  of  the  Cafe 
Chantant  is  not  the  fashionable  Champs-Elysees,  but  that 


THE  BUTTE  MONTMARTRE 


40 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


Bohemian  height,  the  Butte  Montmartre,  which  is  crowned, 
inappropriately  enough,  by  the  grand  new  Cathedral  of  the 
Sacred  Heart.  When  completed,  that  splendid  edifice  will 
be  the  most  conspicuous  object  in  Paris,  the  first  structure  on 
which  the  traveler’s  gaze  will  rest  as  he  approaches  the 
French  capital.  Five  million  dollars  was  the  estimated  cost. 
One  million  has  been  spent  on  the  foundations,  the  body  of 
this  hill  having  been  filled  with  a mass  of  cement,  probably 
the  largest  such  foundation  in  the  world.  Formerly  the 
most  important  building  on  Montmartre  was  the  Church  of 

St.  Peter,  an  an- 
cient pile  of  which 
a part  dates  from 
the  earliest  ages 
of  Christianity  in 
France.  It  has 
the  aspect  of  a 
ruin,  and  its  crum- 
bling wralls  would 
not  long  survive 
were  it  not  for  the 
addition  of  solid 
props  and  braces. 
The  contrast  be- 
tween the  oldest 
and  the  newest 
church  in  Paris 
is  accentuated  by 
their  proximity  ; 
for  the  superb 
granite  walls  of 
the  yet-unfinished 
Sacred  Heart  Ca- 
thedral rise  not  a 


ON  THE  “ BUTTE  SACRE  ” 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


4i 


hundred  feet  distant  from  the 
sanctuary  of  St.  Peter,  which 
has  looked  down  on  Paris  for 
seven  hundred  years  and,  itself 
unchanged,  has  witnessed  all 
the  marvelous  transformations 
of  that  wonderfully  change- 
ful city. 

Far  better  known  than  its 
churches  are  the  windmills  of 
Montmartre,  and  they  are 
nearly  as  ancient.  The  two 
weather-beaten  mills  near  the 
summit  are  said  to  date  back 
more  than  six  hundred  years. 
Their  days  of  usefulness  are 
past,  and  now  with  idle  wings 
they  beckon  idle  crowds  to  a 


gaudy  dance-hall.  Another  the  church  of  st.  peter 

mill,  a modern  one,  stands  at  the  base  of  this  historic  hill. 

It  has  achieved  world-wide  celeb- 
rity under  the  name  of  The 
Red  Mill  or  Le  Moulin 
Rouge.  It  is  one  of  the 
special  landmarks  of 
the  American  in  Paris. 
He  may  look  blankly 
at  you  when  speaking 
of  Music  dc  Cluny 
or  of  Carnavalct,  or 
even  of  the  Pantheon , 
but  when  you  ask  him  if 
he  has  seen  the  Moulin 
Rouge,  he  will  reply,  “You 


SELLING  SACRED  SOUVENIRS 


42 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


bet  I have  ! ’ By  day  the 
famous  ballroom  serves  as 
a cycling  school,  and  those 
who  have  seen  it  only  in 
the  glare  and  whirl  of 
night  will  scarcely  recog- 
nize the  place.  Hither 
come  every  night  scores 
of  our  compatriots,  dig- 
nified family  groups  from 
our  most  eminently  re- 
spectable circles,  and 
hang  wonderingly  on  the 
periphery  of  circles  which, 
to  say  the  least,  could  not 
be  squared  to  transatlantic 
principles.  But  we 
in  our  hearts  to 
low-countrymen  be- 


THE 

SACRED  HEART 
IN  I9OO 


cannot  find  it 
blame  our  fel- 
cause,  being  in 

Paris,  they  pretend  to  do  as  the 
Parisians  do,  while  all 
the  time  they  are  but 
looking  on  to  see  hozv 
it  is  done. 

In  the  garden  stands 
the  grim  old  elephant, 
by  day  as  huge  and  life- 
like as  by  night.  The 
elephant  is  a hollow  sham, 
hollow  as  the  life  led  by 
the  pleasure-seekers  who 
nightly  sit  beneath  his  gaze. 
In  fact,  the  elephant’s  interior 
is  furnished  as  an  Oriental 


IDLE  WINGS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


43 


THE  NEW  GALETTE 


MOULIN  DE  LA  GALETTE 


theater,  whence  during 
the  hours  of  the  per- 
formance come  sounds 
which  conjure  up  vague 
visions  of  the  Midway 
at  Chicago. 

By  night  the  Moulin 
Rouge  glows  like  a vol- 
cano of  evil.  It  red- 
dens the  sky  and  steeps  the  surrounding  streets  in  fire.  Into 
the  blazing  door  the  laughing  crowds  are  swept  by  the  ruddy 

blast,  for  the  mills  of  the 
evil  gods  grind  with  hope- 
less rapidity.  A word  of 
explanation  is  demanded 
by  the  illustration*  show- 
ing the  Moulin  illumi- 
nated. It  is  taken  from 
a photograph  which  was 
made  at  night.  The  huge 


* See  tail-piece,  page  xia. 


44 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


round  thing,  like  a chafing-dish 
in  conflagration,  is  a carousel, 
its  wooden  horses  circling 
round  so  fast  that  they 
left  no  impression  on 
the  plate.  The  lights 
upon  the  revolving 
wings  traced  those 
concentric  circles  in 
the  air,  and  the  curi- 
ous curved  lines  of  light 
down  in  the  street  were 
traced  by  the  twin  lamps 
upon  the  countless  cabs, 
which  during  the  long  expos- 
ure of  the  plate  drove  up  to  the 


LE  MOULIN  ROUGE 

doors  of  the  Red  Mill. 

In  this  very  eccentric 
quarter  are  the  curious 
cafes  and  cabarets,  which 
have  made  the  outer  bou- 
levards famous.  The 
“ Cabaret  dcs  Jguat-z- 
Arts,"  the  “Tavern  of 
the  Four  Arts,”  exter- 
nally is  not  unlike  an  ordi- 
nary cafe.  Here  are  the 
same  round  tables  on  the 
sidewalks,  and  the  same 
type  of  gar g on,  who 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun 
to  the  extinguishment  of 
the  gas  is  ever  on  the 


A MONSTER  OF  MONTMARTRE 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


45 


BALL-ROOM  AT  THE  MOULIN  ROUGE 


alert  to  supply  customers  with  coffee,  absinthe,  liquors,  cigars, 
or  the  inexpensive  bock.  Within,  however,  we  find  evidences 
of  eccentricity  in  the  mural  decorations  and  the  furniture. 
Sketches,  water-colors,  and  posters  adorn  the  lower  portion 
of  the  walls  ; above  may  be  seen  the  fantastic  creations  of  some 
painter  more  or  less  famous.  A large  room  in  the  rear  serves 
at  night  as  a concert  hall,  where  songs  are  sung  and  verses 


THE  PLACE  BLANCHE 


46 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


recited  by  the  musical  and  artistic  celebrities  of  Montmartre, 
whose  name,  by  the  way,  is  legion,  for  there  exist  scores  of 
these  artistic  taverns  and  every  one  boasts  its  corps  of  celeb- 
rities. These  * ‘ geniuses  are  curious  types,  ranging  from 
the  old-style  long-haired  Bohemian,  with  his  flat-brimmed 

hat  of  “ high  form,  to  i 

the  more  modem  dandy 
in  loud  checks,  straw- 
hat.  and  monocle.  The 
names  of  these  cafes, 
cabarets,  and  restaurants 
are  largely  drawn  from 
natural  or  unnatural  his- 
tory. There  is  the  “ Red 
Mule,”  the  “Black 
Dog.  ’ ' the  ‘ 4 Elephants, 
and  the  “Dead  Rat.” 

One  is  called  “Para- 
dise, ” the  decorations 

being  all  blue  and  white,  tee  ee*  hipsoobcme 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


47 


with  silver  clouds.  There,  waiters  robed  in  white  with  long 
blonde  wigs  and  graceful  angel-wings  hooked  to  their  backs, 
dispense  an  earthly  nectar  brewed  from  hops  and  malt. 
Next  door  to  “Paradise”  is  “The  Inferno,”  where  red 
demons  serve  flat  beer  to  suffering  mortals.  Across  the  way 
is  the  “Caf£  of  Death.  ” It  is  called  by  the  French  “ Lc 
Cabaret  dii  Neant , ” “The  Tavern  of  Nothingness.”  A 
green-glazed  lantern  over  the  door  produces  upon  every  face 


AUX  QUAT-Z-ARTS 

a deathly  pallor.  The  walls  are  hung  in  black,  the  waiters 
who  welcome  us  in  sepulchral  tones  are  dressed  exactly  like 
the  croque-morts , or  assistants  of  local  undertakers,  the 
tables  at  which  we  sit  are  coffins,  the  cups  in  which  the  wine 
is  served  are  made  from  human  bones,  hollow  skulls  with 
slots  in  the  cranium  are  used  as  receptacles  for  waiters'  tips, 
and  in  the  corner  stands  a new  pine  coffin,  bearing  the  cheer- 
ful legend,  “ Lodgings  to  Let  Immediately!  When  a visi- 
tor arrives,  the  waiters  announce  the  coming  of  a corpse,  and 


48 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


in  the  room  un- 


dergoes transfor- 
mation. Groups 
of  gay  dancers  at 
the  Moulin  Rouge 
become  mere 
fleshless  packs  of 
bones,  portraits 
of  local  celebrities 
fade  away,  and 
give  place  to  hide- 
ous forms  for  the 


then  say  to  the  astounded  new  arrival,  “Bring  in  your  bones 
and  choose  your  coffin.’’  And  then  follows  the  question, 
“What  poison,  M’sieu’?’’  Those  who  survive  the  shock 
of  this  reception  are  begged  to  look  on  the  marvelous  paint- 
ings round  about  them.  The  “ Dream  of  the  Absinthe- 
Drinker  ’ ’ is  commended  to  our  attention,  and  to  our  horror 
the  drunkard  is  transformed  into  a horrid  skeleton,  round 


which  is 
“ la 


hovering  the  weird  specter  of 
Muse  Verte , ' ’ who  is  the 
“Green  Goddess,  ” the 
spirit  of  insanity-in- 
spiring  absinthe.  In 
turn  every  picture 


GLOOMY  GAIETY 


“heaven”  and  that  other  place 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


5i 


graveyard.  In  every  possible  and 
impossible  way,  death  is  solemnly 
suggested  and  then  turned  to  ridi- 
cule. Overhead  hangs  a chande- 
lier that  is  unique  in  ghastliness. 
“ This  work  of  art,  announces  the 
chief-mourner,  “is  composed  of  the 
bones  of  visiting  cadavers  who  failed 
to  fee  the  undertaker  who  deigned  to  serve 
them  with  the  draughts  of  forgetfulness.  ’’ 
A placard  on  the  wall  announces  that  the 
funeral-tapers,  brought  with  every  glass, 
lighted  and  placed  on  the  lid  of  the  coffin 
at  which  the  visitor  is  sitting,  will  cost  us 
before  two  cents  extra.  Another  placard  requests 

us  in  consideration  of  the  rapid  decomposition  of  our  fleshly 
forms  to  pay  for  our  refreshments  on  receiving  them. 

The  assembled  “ Hus  de  ia  Mort"  are  soon  requested 
to  proceed  to  the  dungeon  where,  on  a stage 
at  the  end  of  a dark  and  narrow  corridor,  we 
see  an  erect,  open  coffin.  An  old  man  in  J 
monkish  robes  asks  for  a volunteer  to  make 
a journey  beyond  the  grave,  it  being  under- 
stood that  a return  trip  is  guaranteed.  A 
willing  one  having  presented  himself, 
he  is  placed  in  the  coffin,  and  a shroud 
is  draped  about  him.  Then,  while 
the  sad  old  monk  plays  gloomy  dirges 
upon  an  organ,  the  visitor  in  the 
coffin  is  seen  slowly  to  decompose, 
the  shroud  dissolves,  the  flesh  dis- 
integrates, the  very  bones  appear. 

For  a moment  the  man  retains  a 
semblance  of  his  former  self,  yet 


52 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


for  a moment  only  ; 
for  soon,  to  the  horror 
of  his  relatives  or  his 
friends  among  the 
spectators,  nothing  re- 
mains of  him  save  his 
osseous  frame.  After 
a moment  of  suspense 
the  man  gradually  re- 
covers all  that  he  has 
lost  — flesh,  clothes, 
and  shroud.  The 
traveler  returns  in 
safety  from  the  other 


“ AU  CHAT  NOIR  ” 

world,  but  he  brings 
no  message,  nor  can 
he  tell  where  he  has 
been,  nor  how  he 
went  and  came. 

All  this  is  curious 
enough,  but  it  is  very 
brutal,  crude,  and  in- 
artistic ; therefore  we 
turn  with  pleasure  to 
another  cabaret,  in 
which,  though  origi- 
nality has  been  forced 


THE  CHIMNEY-PIECE  BY  GRASSET 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


53 


to  the  verge  of  the  fantastic,  there  is  a certain  redeeming 
grace,  an  artistic  quaintness  that  redeems  it  \ from  vul- 
garity. Unfortunately,  the  “Chat  Noir,"  the  , £ Simon- 
pure,  original  “ Black  Cat,  is  now 
no  more.  Nine  lives  it  had,  like 
other  cats  ; but  what  are  nine 
poor  lives  on  this  hilarious 
hill  of  Montmartre  ? 
lived  and  lost  them  all  in 
a few  brief  years,  — years 
first  of  prosperity,  then 
of  decline,  curtailment, 
and  disaster.  The  pla- 
card to  the  right  of  the 
entrance  exclaims:  “Pass- 
erby!— pause!”  Then  it 
explains  that  by  the  will  of 


RODOLPHE  SAL1S  AND  THE  SUISSE 


54 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


destiny  this  edifice  is  dedicated  to  Pleasure  and  the  Muses,  and 
concludes  with  the  injunction  : “ Passer-by  ! — be  modern  ! 
Another  placard  tells  us  that  we  may  “be  modern  " at  no 
greater  expense  than  fifty  centimes  for  a double  bock  of 
Munich  beer,  while  for  the  hungry  there  is  a table  d’hote 
at  “two-francs  fifty;  ” and  blue  posters  tell  of  the  most 
worthy  entertainment  offered  in  the  Black  Cat  Theater. 

Let  us  “be  modern  ; let  us  enter. 

By  day  the  tavern  is  far  less  interesting  than  by  night, 
when  we  should  find  the  crowded  tap-room  resounding  to  the 
laughter  and  the  songs  of  a Bohemian  assembly.  Wherever 
possible,  feline  motives  have  been  introduced  in  the  scheme 
of  decoration  : cats  perch  upon  the  mantel,  cat-heads  look 
down  from  every  point  of  vantage  ; on  the  walls  are  paint- 
ings representing  myriads  of  cats  ; the  room,  the  house,  the 
neighborhood,  seem  to  mew  and  purr.  In  the  depths  of  this 
quaint  little  paradise  of  Toms  and  Tabbies,  we  find  the 


A COZY  COR- 


NER AT  THE  CHAT  NOIR 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


55 


THE  BLACK  CAT’S  THEATER 


father  of  this  tribe  of  dusky 
cats.  This  unique  asylum 
for  stuffed  or  carved  felines 
was  born  of  the  fantasy  of 
an  unsuccessful  artist,  Ro- 
dolphe  Salis,  who  did  not 
“long  survive  his  nine-lived 
cabaret.  Rodolphe  Salis 
confesses  frankly  that,  as  he 
could  not  make  his  painting 

SILHOUETTES  , i • i -i  i 1 i 

pay  tor  his  daily  bread  and 
cheese,  he  resolved  to  become  tavern-keeper  and  yet  remain, 
at  heart,  an  artist.  The  Chat  Noir,  as  we  see  it,  was  the 
growth  of  his  idea.  At  first  a meeting-place  for  painters, 
men  of  letters,  and  musicians,  who  met  to  talk,  recite  their 
verse,  and  play  their  compositions,  it  soon  attracted  the  great 
world  of  Paris — “ le  tout  Paris  ” — for  here  was  some- 


56 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


thing  new,  something  unique.  To  mock  the  world,  Salis 
then  dressed  his  waiters  in  the  ornate  garb  of  members  of 
the  French  Academy,  a conceit  which  greatly  pleased  his 
humble  customers,  those  who  had  dreamed  of  fame,  and 
had  waked  to  find  themselves  — not  on  Olympus,  but  on  the 
Butte  Montmartre.  It  was  Salis  who  crowned  his  loved 
Montmartre  with  his  exclamation,  “Montmartre,  it  is  the 
Brain  of  the  Universe  ! ’ ' The  dainty  shadow-plays  of  the 
Chat  Noir  were  presented  in  a little  theater  near  the  roof. 


THE  REAL  HAUNT  OF  THE  BLACK  CAT 


The  auditorium,  although  not  vast,  will  contain  a hundred  or 
more.  Between  the  acts  of  the  shadow-plays,  poets  and 
singers,  informally  introduced  by  Salis,  amused  with  their 
most  Frenchv  selections  an  appreciative  crowd.  The  stage 
itself  is  only  four  or  five  feet  wide  ; a white  linen  screen  is 
stretched  in  the  proscenium,  and  on  it  are  thrown  from 
behind  a series  of  tableaux  in  silhouette.  The  credit  for 
these  unique  productions  is  due  to  Caran  d ’Ache  and  Henri 
Riviere.  They  discovered  the  secret  of  perspective  in  sil- 
houette, and  invented  wonderfully  clever  mechanical  devices 
and  light-effects  to  heighten  the  interest  of  the  performances. 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


57 


THE  “TRUE  TREE  OF  ROBINSON” 


Salis,  the  manager,  acted  the  part  of  antique  chorus,  and 
striding  up  and  down  the  aisle  in  a most  extravagant  fashion 


WAITERS — DUMB  AND  OTHERWISE 


■ 


58  ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 

recited  in  thundering  tones  the  story  shadowed  forth  upon 
the  screen.  Or  sometimes  a sort  of  opera  was  given,  the 
composer  at  the  piano  singing  all  the  parts. 

One  of  the  favorite  shadow-dramas  is  the  “ Epopke  de 
Napoleon  ' ’ in  which  scenes  from  the  history  of  the  great 
emperor  are  thrillingly  presented,  the  “ grande  armee" 
defiles  to  the  sound  of  stirring  music,  the  shadow  of  the 
modern  Csesar  passes  across  the  screen  amid  the  tumultuous 
applause  of  those  behind  the  scenes  and  those  in  front,  bat- 
tles are  fought  and  won  to  the  accompaniment  of  a most 
realistic  roar  of  musketry  and  cannon,  the  flashes  and  smoke 


DINNER  IS  SERVED 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


59 


IN  THE  CRUSOE  TAVERN 

being  plainly  visible.  And  all  these  effects  are  produced  by 
three  or  four  clever  men  shut  up  in  a box  hardly  bigger  than 
a Punch  and  Judy  cabinet. 

Behind  the  scenes  we  find  a novel  assortment  of  instru- 
ments. Above,  at  the  right,  is  the  lantern  for  projecting 
light  upon  the  screen  against  which  hangs  a shadow  scene 
representing  the  Crucifixion,  for  one  of  the  musical  plays 
presented  is  a Passion  Play.  Yet  the  subject  is  treated  so 
delicately  and  so  reverently  that  we  can  forgive  its  presenta- 
tion even  under  auspices  so  incongruous  as  those  of  the  Chat 
Noir.  The  foregrounds  are  cut  from  plates  of  zinc,  as  are 
also  the  lifelike  figures  which  are  made  to  move  and  to  act. 
A piano,  an  organ,  drums,  pistols,  trumpets,  whistles,  and 
the  voices  of  the  artists  in  charge  of  the  figures  furnish  the 


6o 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


noise,  while  lightning  and  cannon-discharges  and  great  explo- 
sions are  produced  by  numerous  devices  very  curiously  con- 
trived. The  smoke  of  battle  belches  from  a harmless 
cigarette. 

Eccentric  cafes  and  restaurants  are  not  confined  to  Paris 
proper  ; the  suburban  caterers  to  the  gaiety  of  nations  are 


CHEZ  M.  WEEKS 


awake  to  the  value  of  an  original  idea  expressed  in  such  a 
way  as  to  impress  itself  upon  the  jaded  public  mind.  Around 
the  legend  of  our  childhood  friend,  Robinson  Crusoe,  a 
suburban  village  has  grown  up  ; its  name  is  Robinson  ; its 
mission  is  to  slake  the  thirst  and  satisfy  the  hunger  of  the 
gay  Parisians.  It  cannot  by  any  possibility  be  called  a desert 
isle,  rather  is  it  an  isle  of  plenty,  an  isle  of  mirth  and  music, 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


61 


. 

A STUDIO  AT  ECOUEN 

floating  amid  a sea  of 
country  calm.  Paris 
comes  to  Robinson 
to  breath  fresh  air, 
eat  wedding-break- 
fasts, sing,  dance, 
dine  in  couples  or 
in  companies, 
and  other- 
wise make 
merry. 

There  are 
innumer- 
able garden  restaurants  named 
after  Robinson  Crusoe  or  good  Man  Friday,  but  we  patronize 
the  original  “ Restaurant  of  the  True  Tree  of  Robinson,  ” in 
which  “true  tree  three  dining-rooms  are  hung  between  the 


AT  WORK 


62 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


earth  and  sky  amid  cool  leafy  branches  that,  swaying  in  the 
breeze,  perform  the  office  of  Oriental  punkahs.  Dumb- 
waiters, simple  in  design  and  operation,  expedite  the  labors  of 
waiters  who  are  not  dumb  — least  of  all  when  disputes  arise 
about  the  bill.  Every  time  I saw  one  of  the  baskets  swing 
upward  to  the  hungry  guests,  I thought  of  far-off  Thessaly 
where,  curled  in  a net  at  the  extremity  of  a long  rope,  I was 
hauled  from  the  base  of  a gigantic  cliff  up  to  a Greek  Monas- 
tery in  the  air  more  than  two  hundred  feet  above,  and  there 
received  by  the  hungry  monks  of  the  wonderful  Convents  of 


AT  ECOUEN 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


63 


the  Meteora.  It  is  a far  cry  from  the  Parisian  suburbs  to  the 
cliff-bound  plains  of  Thessaly,  but  half  the  joy  of  travel  is  in 
the  suggestion  now  and  then  waked,  of  something  far  away, 
dissimilar,  yet  in  some  vague  mysterious  way  related  in  sensa- 


“ SUNSET  RAYS  ASLANT  THE  WOOD  ” 

tion.  To  see  Robinson  at  its  best  we  should  come  on  a Sun- 
day, when  the  village  overflows  with  merry  Bohemians  from 
Paris,  and  the  tree-tops  are  alive  with  students,  models,  and 
artists. 

The  artist-life  in  Paris  is  a subject  rich  in  interest  and 
beauty,  a subject  of  which  I hope  some  day  to  treat.  Suf- 
fice it  now  to  take  a hasty  peep  into  the  studio  of  an  artist 
whose  work  appeals  to  the  traveler  with  peculiar  force,  for 
Edwin  Lord  Weeks  is  not  only  a painter,  he  is  a traveler,  an 
explorer,  and  an  enthusiastic  Alpinist.  He  has  revealed  to 


64 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


QUIET  ECOUEN 

us  in  all  the  glory  of  its  color  and  its  sunshine  the  Indian  and 
Persian  East.  Into  Morocco  he  has  traveled,  the  deserts  and 


THE  HOME  OF  MILLET 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


65 


the  far-off  islands  of  the  world  he 
has  brought  near  to  us,  the 
sublime  terrors  of  the  higher 
Alps  he  has  expressed  in 
quick,  vigorous  strokes 
while  finding  a precari- 
ous foothold  on  icy  pin- 
nacles. He  may  call 
one  little  room  his  studio, 
but  his  true  studio  is  the 
wide  world  ; its  height  is 
marked  by  mountain-tops, 
its  breadth  by  Orient  and  Oc- 
cident. His  home,  in  an  aristo- 
millet  and  rousseau  cratic  quarter  of  Paris,  is  such  as 
a man  of  his  tastes  would  naturally  be  supposed  to  have. 
Rare  Oriental  belongings  brought  together  from  the  ends 
of  the  East  give  it  an  exotic  atmosphere,  while  his  pictures 
lead  our  imaginations  into  far-off  lands,  and  hint  at  the 
intensely  interesting  life  that  he  has  led. 

How  different  the  life-work  of  another  painter,  into 
whose  peaceful  studio  in  the  village  of  Ecouen  I was  one 
day  introduced  by  an  artist  friend  from  Paris.  His  subjects, 
homely  and  commonplace,  are  treated  with  a feeling  and  a 
gentle  art  which  make  his  pictures  poems  on  canvas,  pas- 
torals in  frames.  He  has,  it  is  true,  wandered  as  far  as 
England  in  search  of  peaceful  landscapes,  and  in  his  fascinat- 
ing, broken  English  he  becomes  enthusiastic  over  the  beauti- 
ful effects  produced  by  ripples  on  the  placid  Thames,  or,  as 
he  quaintly  puts  it,  by  “ ze  little  frizzles  on  ze  Tamise.  ” 
When  days  are  fine,  his  little  garden  becomes  a studio,  his 
peasant  servants,  models.  The  house  and  garden  have  in 
their  time  belonged,  first  to  a favorite  of  a king,  then  to  a 
poet,  then  to  a musician.  Here,  then,  has  been  the  abode 


5 


66 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


of  love,  of  poesy,  and  of  music  ; and  now  the  master  is  a 
painter  whose  pictures  are  romantic  and  poetic,  whose  com- 
positions are  color  symphonies. 

“ Ah,  you  should  come  here  later,  when  my  house  is  cov- 
ered with  wistaria  blossoms  ! ’ he  exclaims  ; “ for  then,  then 
it  is  so  sweet  that  it  is  like  — what  shall  I say  ? Ah  ! — like 
living  in  ze  pomade  pot  ! But  come  and  see  my  village. 
Ecouen  is  beautiful.  There  are  pictures  everywhere 


IN  THE  FOREST  OF  FONTAINEBLEAU 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


6 7 


ON  THE  TERRACE,  BARBIZON 


And,  opening  the  garden  gate,  there  is  in  truth  a pic- 
ture— a lovely  composition  of  sheep  and  shepherd,  village 
lane  and  crumbling  wall,  and  vague  green  boughs  against  a 
summer  sky.  Yes,  Ecouen  is  beautiful  ; happy  the  painter 
who  thus  can  find  inspiration  at  his  very  door.  We  wander 
through  the  town  and  out  along  a green-arched  road  where 
twilight  overtakes  us,  the  sun  first  throwing  across  our  path, 
aslant  the  wood,  bright  rays  of  gold  in  warning  that  the  day 
is  done.  Sweet  days  indeed  are  those  of  men  whose  mission 
is  to  be  interpreters  of  beauty.  Who  would  not  be  a painter 
and  dwell  in  quiet  Ecouen,  fixing  its  calm  loveliness  on  can- 
vas, forgetful  of  the  strife  and  jealousy  of  the  great  roaring 
city  — at  peace  with  all  the  world  and  best  of  all  at  peace 
with  self,  that  ever-present  tyrant  ? 

From  Ecouen  to  Barbizon  the  distance  may  be  long  in 
miles,  but  it  is  short  in  spirit.  In  Barbizon,  upon  the  edge 
of  the  Fontainebleau  Forest,  have  dwelt  artists  whose  names 


68 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


now  stand  for  all  that 
is  best  and  highest  — 
painters  whom  the 
world  is  proud  to 
honor,  now  that  all 
are  dead  and  can- 
not know  that  the 
triumph  of  w h i c h 
they  dreamed  has 
been  at  last  accorded 
them.  While  they 
lived,  the  world  was 
blind,  and  in  its  own 
blindness  mocked  at 
genius,  and  drove 
these  prophets  of 


THE  COURT  OF  THE  ADIEUX 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


69 


true  art,  heartbroken,  into  poor  men’s  graves.  We  cannot 
pass  the  house  of  Millet  without  feeling  a pang  at  the 


THE  LONG  GALLERY 


70 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


injustice  done  to  that  great  soul.  The  same  world  that 
refused  him  bread  paid  three  quarters  of  a million  francs 
for  “The  Angelus  only  fifteen  years  after  the  death  of  him 
who  painted  it.  Not  far  from  his  home  in  the  forest  that  he 
loved  so  well,  we  find  a memorial  tablet  set  in  the  rocks  of 
Fontainebleau  as  firmly  as  admiration  for  his  genius  is  now 


FONTAINEBLEAU 

set  in  the  hearts  of  all  men  who  think  and  feel.  With 
Millet’s  memory,  that  of  his  sincere  friend  Rousseau  will 
ever  be  associated  ; and  it  is  therefore  fitting  that  the  faces 
of  Jean-Frangois  Millet  and  Theodore  Rousseau  should 
together  greet  the  wanderer  here  in  this  forest  which  was  their 
world,  the  beauties  of  which  both  have  immortalized  on  canvas. 

There  is  no  lovelier  forest  in  all  France.  Moreover,  it 
is  both  forest  and  park.  Within  a grand  circumference  of 


THE  PRISON  OF  A POPE  — FONTAINEBLEAU 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


73 


fifty  miles,  long  leagues  of  road  and  pathway  cross  and 
recross,  so  that  the  traveler  is  constantly  tempted  to 
change  his  course,  to  explore  mysterious  forest  aisles,  or 
to  lose  himself  in  some  delightful  shady  labyrinth.  Hotels, 
chalets  or  rustic  caf£s  are  found  in  every  corner  of 
the  wood.  The  walker  and  the  cycler  find  in  this  wood  good 


MUSEE  AT  FONTAINEBLEAU 


roads,  good  paths,  good  cheer ; the  artist  finds  that  which 
he  seeks,  peace,  picturesqueness,  and  inspiration  born  of  the 
thought  that  this  gentle  wilderness  has  been  the  nurse  of 
genius.  The  traveler,  too,  finds  that  which  he  seeks  — his- 
torical associations,  housed  in  a palace  that  in  sumptuousness 
is  not  surpassed  by  any  other  palace  in  the  land.  King 
Francis  I built  Fontainebleau  in  1547,  great  Henry  of 
Navarre  completed  it.  Louis  Philippe  and  the  Napoleons 
spent  millions  for  its  restoration.  The  course  of  the  world’s 


74 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


history  has  more 
than  once  been 
changed  by  acts 
performed  upon 
the  regal  stage  of 
Fontainebleau. 
The  last  recorded 
scene  was  perhaps 
t h e saddest  and 
most  theatrical  of 
all,  Napoleon  s 
farewell  to  the 
Old  Guard  in  the 
“Court  of  the 
Adieux. 

But  as  we  enter, 
thoughts  of  earlier 
centuries  will  at- 
tend us.  We  see 


COMPIEGNE 


IN  THE  WOOD  OF  COMPIEGNE 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


75 


WHERE  KINGS  AND  EMPERORS  HAVE  DANCED 

King  Louis,  the  Magnificent,  destroy  the  broad  and  noble 
work  of  Henry  of  Navarre  by  the  pen-stroke  which  revoked 


AN  EASY-CHAIR  AT  COMPIEGNE 


7 6 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


the  Edict  of  Nantes,  plunged  France  into  religious  civil- 
war,  and  turned  back  many  pages  in  the  book  of  progress. 
As  we  pass  from  the  long  gallery  into  an  apartment  which 
is  furnished,  like  all  the  rooms  of  Fontainebleau,  with  an 
artistic  lavishness  that  gave  no  thought  to  cost,  we  see  the 
figure  of  a captive  Pope,  the  representative  of  a power  to 
which  emperors  once  did  homage,  held  prisoner  by  a little 
man  who  not  a score  of  years  before  had  been  an  obscure 
young  soldier  doing  only  petty  military  duty  in  a remote 


village  of  his  native  Cor- 
bleau  the  sunset  of  Napo- 
than  four  months  after  the 
leon,  in  yonder  palace, 
European  world.  Here, 
burned  scarce  a 


sica.  And  at  Fontaine- 
leonic  day  began.  Fess 
release  of  Pius  VII,  Napo- 
signed  away  his  title  to  the 
too,  the  afterglow  which 
hundred  days, 


HOTEL  DE  V1LLE  AT  COMPIEGNE 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


77 


“ RUINED  CYLINDERS  OF  MASONRY** 


lighted  with  its  brief  glare  these  palace  walls ; for  here 
Napoleon,  returned  from  Elba,  reviewed  his  faithful  troops 
before  he  marched  to  triumph  in  his  regained  capital,  and 
thence  to  black  defeat  at  Waterloo.  Another  home  of  kings 
and  emperors  graces  another  forest  region,  that  of  Compiegne. 
The  Chateau  was  a creation  of  Louis  the  Fifteenth,  and  later 
it  became  the  favorite  resort  of  Napoleon  the  Third.  The 
forest  is  almost  as  beautiful  as 
that  of  Fontainebleau.  The 
palace  of  Compiegne  is  an 
echo  of  the  splendor  of 
the  older  royal  dwelling. 

Within  we  find  bewil- 
dering suites  of  gor- 
geous rooms,  corridors 
and  festal  halls,  all  of 
which  still  breathe  an 
atmosphere  of  life. 

The  many  kings  and 
queens  who  have  graced 


COUCY 


78 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


Fontainebleau  are  dead  and  gone  ; but  the  last  mistress  of 
this  imperial  pile,  Eugenie,  Empress  of  the  French,  still 
lives.  How  strange  the  thought  that  she  should  be  to-day 
among  the  living  — a sad,  proud  woman,  widowed,  childless, 
still  surviving,  after  thirty  years,  that  gilded  fabric  of  which 
she  was  for  so  many  brilliant  years  the  brightest  ornament, 
that  magical  creation  of  the  grandson  of  poor  Josephine, 
the  Empire  of  Napoleon  the  Third  ! 

From  Compiegne  the  traveler  may  tour  on  bicycle  or  in 
automobile  through  the  forest,  over  perfect  roads,  to  another 
great  chateau,  a restoration  of  a feudal  castle,  one  of  the 
most  imposing  structures  in  all  France.  But  first,  before  we 
visit  Pierrefonds,  that  we  may  better  comprehend  its  mean- 
ing and  history,  we  should  diverge  into  the  open  country  and 
ride  on  until  there  rise  above  us  the  ruined  towers  and  the 
donjon-keep  of  Coucy.  For  Coucy  s ruined  cylinders  of 
masonry  record  an  early  chapter  ot 
French  feudal  history  which  should 
be  learned  before  we  read 
the  peroration  expressed  in 
architectural  periods  upon 
the  restored  walls  of  Pierre- 
fonds,-— walls  that  are  elo- 
quent of  feudal  lavishness 
and  splendor.  In  Coucy, 
feudal  strength  and  warlike 
might  are  typified.  Built 
early  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury by  the  king’s  great  vas- 
sal Enguerrand,  the  most 
formidable  lord  of  France, 

Coucy  for  many  years  defied 
the  crown  itself,  and  once 

its  master  almost  succeeded  the  donjon-keep  of  coucy 


PIERREFONDS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


8 1 


in  wresting  the  sceptre  from  the  pious  grasp  of  France’s  holy 
king,  St.  Louis.  The  motto  of  the  lords  of  Coucy  was  a 
proud  one,  “ King  I am  not,  nor  Prince,  nor  Duke,  nor  even 
Count  ; I am  the  Lord  of  Coucy.  ’’  And  long  after  Coucy  s 
lords  had  ceased  to  be  a menace  to  the  monarchy,  this  mass- 
ive donjon-keep  continued  to  defy  the  enemies  of  that  great 
medieval  feudal  system  to  which  it  had  owed  so  many  years 
of  proud  supremacy.  By  order  of  the  king,  Louis  XIII, 
men  came  in  1652  charged  to  destroy  this  then  abandoned 
and  defenseless  pile.  But  all  their  efforts  were  in  vain  ; their 
heaviest  blasts  of  powder  merely  caused  the  tower  to  shrug 
its  battlemented  shoulders,  and  the  outer  walls,  thirty-four 


TURRETS  AND  TOWERS 


82 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


feet  thick,  to  crack  into  a smile  of 
pitying  disdain.  So  the  des 
troyers  went  their  way,  leav- 
ing old  Coucy  dismantled 
but  triumphant  in  its  in- 
destructibility. 

Everything  is  colos- 
sal in  this  fortress  ; there 
is  in  it  a rudeness  and 
hugeness  of  construction 
which  belittles  the  man 
of  the  present.  The  in- 
habitants of  this  feudal  abode 
must  have  belonged  to  a race 
of  giants.  After  its  fall  the  vil- 
lagers used  this  mass  of  masonry  as  a 


free  quarry,  and, 
with  these  stones 
heaped  up  in  feud- 
al times  to  form 
this  stronghold  of 
oppression  for  the 
mighty  war-lords, 
they  built  them- 
selves peaceful 
dwellings  in  the 
quiet  streets  of  the 
neighboring  vil- 
lages. The  castle 
is  now  the  pro- 
tected property  of 
the  nation,  its  last 
lord  having  been 
the  ill-fated  Prince 


FEUDAL  SPLENDOR 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


83 


AMID  THE  TURRETS 

Philippe  Egalite,  the  prince  who 
voted  for  the  execution  of  King 
Louis  XVI,  and  later  met  his 
death  upon  the  guillotine. 

Having  seen  what  time 
and  royal  vandalism  have 
made  of  one  medieval 
stronghold,  we  may  now 
visit  the  Chateau  of  Pi- 
errefonds  and  see  what 
the  genius  of  a modern 
architect,  backed  by  Im- 
perial generosity,  has  been 
able  to  evolve  from  the  ruins 


PROM  THE  LOOK-OUT  TOWER 


84 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


of  a castle  which,  like  Coucy,  dates  from  the  feudal  epoch. 
Above  the  calm,  still,  little  town  of  Pierrefonds  towers  the 
magnificent  chateau,  as  perfect,  as  imposing,  as  when  half  a 
thousand  years  ago,  it  stood  a noble  menace  to  the  throne  of 
France.  It  was  late  in  the  fourteenth  century,  in  1390,  that 
the  walls  of  Pierrefonds  first  loomed  above  this  modest  vil- 
lage. Louis  of  Orleans,  builder  of  Pierrefonds,  was  a 


WALLS,  PALACES,  CHURCHES,  AND  TOWERS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


85 


brother  of  King  Charles  the  Sixth. 
He  willed  that  his  chateau 
should  be  at  the  same  time 
the  most  sumptuous  resi- 
dence of  his  epoch  and  a 
fortress  so  constructed  as 
to  defy  all  possible  at- 
tacks. That  it  could 
well  do  so  we  must  grant 
as  we  gaze  upward  at  its 
splendid  towers.  But  no 
prince  in  those  days  was 
sure  of  his  position  unless, 
like  the  builder  of  this  pile,  he 
possessed  fortified  abodes  in  many 
places.  Louis  of  Orleans 
therefore  purchased  the  castle  of  Coucy,  and  thus  became 
owner  of  the  two  finest  specimens  of  feudal  architecture 
in  the  whole  land  of  France.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  all  his 
towers,  he  at  last  fell  victim  to  assassins  hired  by  the 


THE  CAUSEWAY  TO  THE  ROCK 


ST.  AUBLRT  S CHAPEL 


86 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


Duke  of  Burgundy.  Then,  after  Pierrefonds  had  stood  two 
centuries  as  an  ideal  expression  of  medieval  dignity  and 
power,  Louis  XIII  ordered  the  destruction  of  this  “ Romance 
in  Stone,  ’ fearing  to  leave  intact  so  formidable  a refuge  for 
his  enemies.  It  remained  a shattered  ruin  until  1858,  when 
Napoleon  III  began  the  amazing  restoration  that  is  now 
com-  pleted.  As  we  step  into  the 

splendid  courtyard,  we 


THOUSAND 
EVERY  SUMMER 

confess  that  it  is  indeed  an  amazing  accomplishment, — this 
bringing  into  our  modern  century  out  of  the  vanished  past 
one  of  the  noblest  of  feudal  structures,  so  huge,  so  formid- 
able, so  truly  typical  of  its  distant  half-forgotten  age.  The 
splendid  halls,  corridors,  and  chambers  have  been  reproduced 
in  all  their  impressive  elegance  of  decoration  and  adornment. 
We  cannot  understand  why  Pierrefonds  has  been  neglected 
by  American  travelers  ; few  ever  find  their  way  to  it.  Never 
for  me  has  the  reality  of  the  past,  its  rudeness  and  its  splendor 
been  more  vividly  made  manifest  than  here  at  Pierrefonds. 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


87 


Left  for  a moment  alone  in  one  of  its  vast  halls,  I felt  myself 
put  back  five  hundred  years.  It  seemed  as  if  the  castle  had 
been  deserted  but  temporarily  by  its  inhabitants.  It  seemed 
as  if  at  any  moment  the  knights  would  come  striding  in, 
fresh  from  a battle  or  a tourney,  talking  in  quaint  old  French 
of  things  now  history,  then  only  rumors  of  impending  wars 
or  whispered  reports  of  bloody  deeds  which  since  have  echoed 
down  the  centuries. 


ARRIVAL  AT  THE  ISLAND 

Mounting  to  the  summit  of  one  of  the  lookout  towers, 
and  standing  there  amid  the  many  turrets  and  pinnacles  of 
restored  Pierrefonds,  we  ask,  to  whom  is  due  the  credit  for 
this  miracle,  this  magical  reconstruction  of  the  castle  ? To 
a man  whose  name  is  not  so  widely  known  as  it  should  be, 
to  a man  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the  careful  restoration  of 
the  neglected  reminders  of  the  glorious  past  of  France,  to  a 
man  who  needs  no  monument  other  than  the  grand  structures 
he  has  recreated — to  Eugene  Viollet-le-Duc,  the  restorer  of 


88 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


Notre  Dame  in  Paris  and  of  Pierrefonds,  an  architect  to 
whom  the  world  owes  a great  debt  of  gratitude.  Thanks  to 
his  exhaustive  study  of  the  past,  to  his  wise  use  of  the  five 
million  francs  furnished  by  the  third  Napoleon,  Pierrefonds, 
after  centuries  of  decay  and  neglect  has  risen  from  its  ruins 
and  has  resumed  its  primitive  appearance. 

Another  medieval  structure,  one  that  rivals  this  chateau 
in  picturesqueness  and  impressiveness,  and  at  the  same  time 
surpasses  it  in  architectural  beauty,  in  the  interest  of  its  his- 
torical souvenirs,  and,  above  all,  in  the  strangeness  of  its  sit- 
uation, is  the  Abbey  of  Mont  Saint-Michel,  which  rises  from 
its  rocky  islet  in  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of  Brittany  Gazing 
seaward  from  the  Norman  coast,  we  behold  a mighty  rock, 
crowned  with  monasteries,  churches,  palaces,  and  towers, 
outlined  against  the  evening  sky.  The  upper  extremity  of 

this  bay  is  but  a sort 
of  estuary  — a vast 
plain  of  sand,  which 
every  day  is  twice 
covered  by  the  sea 
and  twice  by  it  aban- 
doned. The  tides  are 
phenomenal.  On  this 
bay  at  Granville  a dif- 
erence  between  high 
and  low  water  of  over 
fifty  feet  is  frequently 
recorded.  The  tides 
of  March  and  Septem- 
ber have  wiped  out  of 
existence  many  a sea- 
side farm.  It  is  said 
that  at  times  the  sea 
rushes  in  across  the 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


89 


sands  with  such  rapidity  that  the  fleetest 
of  horses  could  not  outstrip  the  waves 
in  the  race  for  life  and  safety.  It  has 
been  proved  that  before  this  region  be- 
came a part  of  the  bay,  it  was  a forest, 
extending  far  beyond  Mont  Saint-Michel 
to  other  islands,  then  only  hills,  which 
now  lie  far  out  from  the  shore.  For  cen- 
turies the  northwest  coast  of  France  has 
been  undergoing  a gradual  subsidence. 
Recently  there  was  discovered  at  a depth 
of  ten  feet  or  so  beneath  these  sands  a 
portion  of  a paved  roadway,  as  well  as  a 
madamf.  poulard  human  skull  and 

three  skulls  of  a species  of  wild  oxen, 
the  aurochs,  an  animal  which  as  early 
as  the  time  of  Ca;sar  had  ceased  to 
exist  in  occidental  Gaul.  Entire  trees 
perfectly  preserved  have  frequently 
been  found.  These  facts  prove 
existence  of  the  an- 
tique forest  and  the 
profound  transfor- 
mations which  this 
region  has  passed 
through.  Only  Mont 
Saint-Michel  and  a 
few  minor  islands 
have  still  survived, 
thanks  to  their  rocky 
bases-  From  earli- 
est recorded  time 
Mont  Saint-Michel 
has  been  surmounted 


90 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


by  a fortress  or  a tem- 
ple. The  Gauls  there 
founded  a school  of 
druidesses,  the  Ro- 
mans there  raised  al- 
tars to  the  Almighty 
Jupiter,  the  Franks 
there  consecrated  the 
first  Christian  oratory. 
In  708  a holy  man, 
St.  Aubert,  Bishop  of 
Avranches,  dedicated 
a modest  chapel  on 
the  rock  to  the  Arch- 
angel  Michael,  thus 
fixing  for  future  ages 
the  name  of  Mont 
Saint-Michel. 

There  is  a legend  of 
St.  Michael  and  the 
Demon  told  by  the 
people  of  lower  Nor- 
mandy. St.  Michael,  to  protect  himself  from  the  machina- 
tions of  the  Devil,  built  amid  the  waters  this  habitation 
worthy  of  an  archangel.  As  a further  precaution,  he  spread 
roundabout  it  miles  of  moving  sands,  far  more  perfidious  than 
the  sea.  The  Devil  lived  in  a humble  cottage  on  the  shore, 
but  possessed  marvelously  fertile  lands.  These  the  saint 
greatly  coveted,  for  in  spite  of  his  fine  home  the  latter  was 
poor  as  a saint  should  be.  One  day  he  called  upon  his 
evil  neighbor,  saying,  “ I come  to  make  you  a proposition.  ” 
“Proceed,’’  replied  the  Devil.  “You  love  repose;  I love 
hard  work  ; cede  me  all  your  lands.  The  labor  shall  be 
done  by  me,  and  you  shall  receive  one  half  the  harvest.  ’ 


THE  HOTEL  POULARD 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


9i 


Satan  instantly  agreed.  The  saint  then  offered  to  let  his 
partner  in  this  farming-enterprise,  choose  which  half  of 
the  produce  he  would  take  — that  which  should  rise  above 
the  soil  or  that  which  remained  hidden  in  the  fertile  ground, 
and  Satan  chose  the  former.  A few  months  later  the  vast 
domain  brought  forth  a splendid  crop  of  carrots,  radishes, 
and  beets.  The  Devil,  according  to  the  contract,  was  forced 
to  content  himself  with  the  stalks  and  useless  greens. 

The  next  season  the  Devil,  remembering  how  he  had 
been  outwitted,  reversed  his  choice,  saying  that  he  would 
take  the  portion  of  the  crop  that  remained  hidden  below  the 
surface.  But  the  Devil  found  himself  in  no  better  luck 
when  the  crop  was  harvested,  for  the  wily  saint  this  time 
planted  grain,  and 
gave  the  Father  of 
Lies  only  the  withered 
and  useless  roots. 

The  advantages  of 
being  a saint  are  ob- 
vious. 

It  is  in  a lumbering 
omnibus  that  travelers 
make  the  journey  of 
ten  kilometers  from 
Pontorson,  the  rail- 
way terminus,  to  the 
portals  of  the  island. 

A broad  dike  or  cause- 
way half  a mile  in 
length  curves  seaward 
from  shore.  Com- 
paratively few  Ameri- 
cans visit  this  most 
wonderful  place,  but 


EVERYTHING  IS  UPSTAIRS 


9 2 ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


K ROM  THE  STEPS 


forty-five  thousand  European  tourists  come  annually.  Arriv- 
ing under  the  shadow  of  the  grim  fortifications,  the  omnibus 
is  taken  by  assault  by  an  army  of  Amazons  from  the  hotels, 
even  scaling  ladders  being  brought  into  use  by  eager  serving- 
maids.  Of  course  we  intend  to  patronize  the  “ Hotel  Pou- 
lard, ” an  establishment  as  famous  as  the  Mount  itself;  but 
each  servant  shouts  the  name  of  a different  Poulard!  — 
“ Poulard  Aine,"  “ Poulard  Jeune,"  or  “ La  Veuve 
Poulard  for  the  entire  Poulard  tribe  has  gone  to  keeping 
inns  upon  the  island.  Thus  it  is  in  a state  of  doubt  and 
uncertainty  that  we  hasten  through  the  gate  into  a narrow 
street,  and  there  we  are  greeted  by  a smiling  dame  who  in  a 
sweet  but  authoritative  voice  remarks,  Je  suis  Mine.  Pou- 
lard ; ” and  without  question  we  accept  her  as  the  mistress 
of  the  original  Hotel  Poulard.  She  is  unique,  a landlady 
unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  innkeeping.  I defy  the  world 
to  produce  a traveler  who,  having  visited  the  Mount,  does 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


93 


not  carry  away  with  him  or  her  (for  Madame  Poulard  is 
equally  popular  with  those  of  her  own  sex),  an  enthusiastic 
admiration  for  the  hostess.  I wish  that  I could  show  the 
thousand  charming  expressions  of  her  face,  her  smiles  of 
greeting,  her  half-sad  way  of  “speeding  the  parting  guest. 
Had  all  my  snap-shots  succeeded,  you  might  have  had  to 
listen  to  a lecture  on  Mont  Saint-Michel  entirely  illustrated 
with  portraits  of  Madame  Poulard.  The  Hotel  Poulard  is 
the  dominating  feature  of  the  one  and  only  thoroughfare,  and 
that  no  one  may  be  left  in  doubt,  two  sign-boards  tell  the 
arriving  traveler  that  this  is  “the  place  of  the  Renown  of 
the  Omelette,  the  Hotel  of  Poulard  the  Elder,  ’’  or,  rather  the 
nucleus  of  the  hotel,  for  the  establishment  comprises  many 
buildings,  some  in  the  narrow  village  street,  some  perched  on 
the  rocky  slope  a hundred  feet  above.  Madame  s system  of 
management  is  unique.  When  after  a sojourn  of  several 
days,  I asked  for  the  accounts  of  a party  of  three,  Madame 
smiled  and  said,  “ Sit  down  and  tell  me  what  you  have  had. 


THE  “LITTLE  BREAKFAST1’ 


94 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  OMELETTE 

things  ; my  guests  are  always 
honest.  ’ ’ Naturally  through 
fear  of  abusing  the  confi- 
dence of  this  trustful  hostess 
we  paid  for  extras  that  we 
had  never  had. 

One  hundred  steps  lead 
from  the  street  to  our  apart- 
ments. But  how  interest- 
ing is  the  climb  ! we  have 
not  time  to  think  of  the  fa- 
tigue, for  Madame  herself 
accompanies  the  ladies, 
charming  them  into  forget- 
fulness of  their  effort,  short- 
ening, with  many  words  of 
encouragement,  the  weary 


Let  me  see,  four 
days  — three  peo- 
ple— -that  makes 
twelve  dinners, 
twelve  dejeu- 
ners, twelve  early 
cups  of  coffee,  — 
what  else,  now, 
do  you  remember? 
I really  have  not 
time  to  bother 
about  these  little 


M.  POULARD  ET  SES  POULETS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


95 


way.  Far  below  we  see  the  village,  and  beyond,  the  great 
plain  of  shifting  sand  which  within  an  hour  will  become  a 
glittering  expanse  of  sea.  The  Norman  coast  lies  low  along 
the  horizon.  At  night  this  ascent  to  our  abode  is  a fantastic 
experience,  for  every  guest  is  furnished  with  a lighted  paper 
lantern,  and  when  these  flickering  lights  are  slowly  moving 
skyward,  the  scene  suggests  an  evening  picture  in  Japan. 
Upon  the  terrace  every  morning  we  are  served  with  the 


POULARD  ENTERPRISES 


French  “little  breakfast,  ” a cup  of  coffee  and  a roll.  Un- 
fortunately, luncheons  and  dinners  are  not  served  at  this  alti- 
tude, and  twice  a day  we  must  make  the  toilsome  journey  to 
the  lower  town,  or  else  be  content  to  live  on  fresh  air  and 
lovely  vistas. 

From  the  terrace  one  could  almost  drop  into  the  street 
below.  We  seem  to  be  living  at  one  and  the  same  time  upon 
a mountain-top,  on  shipboard,  and  among  the  clouds  in  a 
balloon.  In  fact,  we  are  upon  a mountain,  the  sea  is  round- 
about us,  and  at  times  the  clouds  and  mists  of  Brittany 


96 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


envelop  us.  At  midday  from  the  depths  of  the  village  there 
comes  clanging  up  the  precipice  the  sound  of  the  luncheon- 
bell,  announcing  that  all  hands  must  now  descend  for 
dejeuner.  With  a zeal  like  that  of  fervent  pilgrims,  we 
rush  down  to  the  modern  shrine  of  Mont  Saint-Michel,  the 
Poulard  kitchen,  to  witness  the  modern  miracle, — the  mak- 
ing of  the  omelette,  performed  by  the  patron  saint  of  the 
isle,  Madame  Poulard.  The  open  fireplace  is  the  altar 
before  which  crowds  of  hungry  tourists  gather  every  day  to 
watch  with  reverence  and  awe  a high  priestess  of  the  culinary 
art,  preparing  with  a skill  born  of  long  practice  an  omelette 
worthy  the  table  of  the  gods.  Upon  this  altar  have  been 
sacrificed  in  one  day  as  many  as  seventy  dozen  eggs  ; for 
Madame  is  tireless,  and  from  eleven  to  one  o’clock  may  be 
found  gracefully  turning  out  omelette  after  omelette,  each 

more  perfect  than 
the  last,  which 
was  perfection. 
Of  her  omelettes 
I dare  not  attempt 
to  “make  the 
eulogy,  ’’  as  the 
French  would  say; 
they  are  the  stand- 
ard omelettes  of 
the  universe.  It 
has  been  asserted 
by  some  probably 
dyspeptic  traveler 
that  the  famed 
“omelette’’  is 
nothing  more  than 
the  “ plain  scram- 
bled eggs  of  com- 


OYSTERS  OF  CANCALE 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


97 


merce.  ” Forty-five  thousand 
annual  omelette-eaters  stand 
ready  to  brand  this  flippant 
statement  as  a malicious  libel. 

But  the  fame  of  the  Pou- 
lard cuisine  rests  not  only 
upon  the  delicious,  unsub- 
stantial omelette,  for,  behold, 
before  the  fire  are  a dozen 
delicious  chickens  serenely 
turning  on  automatic  spits 
They  are  dripping  with  a sa- 
vory gravy  ; they  are  moist 
and  juicy  ; they  are  tender  ; 
they  are,  in  a word,  worthy 
to  receive  their  browning  in 
company  with  Madame  Pou- 
lard’s omelette.  Success  invites  competition.  The  words 
“Poulard”  and  “omelette  ” have  long  been  synonyms 
for  success.  Behold  how  they  are  repeated  over  and 
over  by  the  signs  that  greet  us  as  we  stroll  through  the  King's 
Gateway  into  the  little  street.  First  the  “ Hotel  Poulard 
Junior  ” flaunts  its  sign  high  above  our  heads.  With  com- 
mendable originality  it  proclaims  the  “ Renown  of  the  Ome- 
lette Soufflde,  ” thereby  honestly  avoiding  a direct  claim  on 
the  “Renown  of  the  old  Original  Omelette.”  Then  comes 
the  inn  of  La  Veuve  Poulard,  the  Widow,  whose  place 
appears  more  modest  and  more  picturesque  ; beyond  the 
Widow’s  inn  are  others  still  more  modest,  where  the  peasant 
pilgrims  are  fed  and  lodged  “at  prices  very  moderate.” 

I dropped  in  one  evening  to  try  the  Omelette  Soufflee, 
and  so  greatly  pleased  was  the  family  of  Poulard  Junior 
to  have  a guest  of  the  Poulard  sit  at  their  table  that  I 
was  not  allowed  to  pay  a penny  for  the  generous  portion 


7 


98 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


UNE  % 1EILLE 


of  the  fluffy  delicacy  of  which 
I had  partaken.  Can  I now 
do  aught  but  praise  it  ? 

The  famous  oysters  of  Can- 
cale  are  opened  and  sold  at  the 
village  gate.  The  products  of 
the  sea  are  naturally  the  chief 
resources  of  the  inhabitants. 
They  catch  fine  salmon  of  ex- 
quisite flavor  renowned  along 
the  coast,  as  well  as  floun- 
ders, soles,  and  shrimps.  The 
family  of  a fisherman,  wife, 
sons,  and  daughters,  mean- 
time devote  themselves  to 
gathering  a species  of  bivalve 
called  the  cogue,  which  at  low  tide  they  dig  from  the  sand 
with  their  sturdy  fingers.  Thus  everybody  works  at  Mont 
Saint-Michel,  and  absolute  poverty  is  unknown.  Even  the 
grandmothers  never  outlive  their  usefulness.  We  often  see 
quaint  ancient  dames  returning  from  a foray  on  the  beach, 
having  been  far  out  across  the  wet  unstable  sands. 

Long  experience  has  taught  the  diggers  to  avoid 
the  treacherous  Uses,  or  quicksands,  which 
have  swallowed  up  so  many  uninitiated 
roamers.  About  one  hundred 
years  ago,  when  the  beach  was 
even  less  secure  than  it  is  to- 
day, a ship  was  stranded  on  it. 
and,  being  forsaken  by  the 
tide,  it  sank  so  quickly 
into  the  yielding  mass 
that  the  tips  of  its  masts 
were  lost  to  view  within 


CLEAN  SOLES 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


99 


twenty-four  hours.  In  1780,  as  an  experiment,  a pyramidal 
block  of  stone,  weighing  only  three  hundred  pounds,  was 
placed  upon  the  surface,  and  during  the  space  of  one  night 
sank  so  far  that  the  end  of  a forty-foot  rope  attached 
to  it  could  not  be  found.  With  a good  guide  I ventured 
to  make  the  tour  round  the  island  at  low  tide.  I found 
that  it  was  not  safe  to  stand  too  long  in  admiration  of 
the  rock,  for  constant  walking  is  the  price  of  remaining 
on  the  surface.  In  places  the  walking  was  decidedly  wet. 


A GUIDE  INDISPENSABLE 


and  I found  the  guide  indispensable.  He  would  carry 
me  on  his  back  over  the  dampest  places,  and  then  return 
to  rescue  the  camera.  The  legs  of  the  tripod  would  mean- 
time have  settled  into  the  sand  to  a depth  of  two  or  three  feet. 

The  line  of  the  seaward  horizon  is  broken  by  the  Isle  of 
Tombelaine,  a miniature  Saint-Michel,  but  now  forsaken  by 
all,  its  monasteries  and  chapels  having  long  since  disappeared. 
Re-entering  the  village  we  secure  the  portraits  of  a pictur- 
esque pair,  a peasant  woman  and  her  little  girl,  the  latter 
dressed  as  soberly  as  if  she  boasted  sixty  years  instead  of  six. 
Both  wear  the  neat  white  caps  characteristic  of  this  region. 


lOO 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


one  cap  being  of  wonderful  design, 
— a design  which  might  well  be 
adopted  for  theater-wear; 
for  while  the  hat  is  not 
restricted  as  to  size,  it  has 
two  loopholes  admirably 
adapted  for  observation 
of  the  stage.  Just  be- 
side the  wall  in  the  illus- 
tration are  situated  the 
two  old  cannon  known 
as  the  “ Michelettes,  ” left 
on  the  beach  by  the  English 
host  of  twenty  thousand,  which 
attacked  the  Mount  in  1434,  but 
TtiPFF.  kinds  ok  caps  was  driven  back  to  shore  by  the 

oix  score  of  valiant  Gallic  knights  into  whose  charge  the 
abbey  and  the  fortress  had  been  confided  by  the  monks. 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


IOI 


These  historic  cannon  called  “bombards,”  which  now  lie 
useless  in  the  village  street,  were  among  the  first  ever  fired 
in  European  warfare.  The  Artillery  Museum  of  Paris  has 
made  strenuous  but  unsuccessful  efforts  to  secure  these  relics. 
In  the  unique  street  leading  from  the  King’s  Gate  up  to  the 
Abbey  are  crowded  the  little  houses  which  shelter  a popula- 
tion of  about  two  hundred,  in- 


MEDIEVAL  MASONRY 

eluding  fishermen,  innkeepers,  and  dealers  in  souvenirs  both 
sacred  and  profane.  In  this  street  the  valiant  warrior 
Bertrand  du  Guesclin  and  his  beautiful  spouse  once  made 
their  abode. 

Steeper  and  steeper  becomes  the  way  as  we  advance, 
bringing  us  finally  to  the  thirteenth-century  ramparts  just 
at  the  moment  of  the  inrushing  of  the  mighty  tide.  Swiftly, 
resistlessly,  the  blue  waters  gain  on  the  yellow  sands  ; foot 
by  foot,  yard  by  yard,  the  delicate  line  of  foam  advances 


102 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


THE  CAUSEWAY  AND  THE  RIVER 


landward,  and  before  we  turn  away,  Mont  Saint-Michel  has 
been  encircled  by  the  flood,  has  for  the  nonce  become  a verit- 
able island  The  inflow  of  the  tide  is  more  exciting  on  the 
western  side  where  the  diked  channel  of  a river-mouth  be- 
comes an  avenue  for  the  advance  of  a deeper  mass  of  water 
rushing  in  from  the  distant  ocean  with  the  swiftness  of  a mill- 


THE  INRUSHING  OF  THE  TIDE 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


103 


race,  long  before  the  surrounding  sandy  plain  has  been 
reached  by  the  broader,  shallower  wave  which  overspreads 
the  sandy  beaches.  The  fishing-boats,  borne  inward  by  the 
rush  of  waters,  come  careering  up  the  river,  which  shortly 
overflows  its  dike  and  pours  its  flood  upon  the  beach.  Be- 
fore the  river  outlet  had  been  defined  by  these  embankments, 
it  frequently  changed  its  course,  flowing  at  one  season  to  the 


east,  at  another  to  the  west  of  the  rock.  Thus  Mont  Saint- 
Michel,  which  once  upon  a time  was  part  of  Brittany,  is  now 
within  the  limits  of  the  Norman  province.*  And  well  may 
Normandy  be  proud  of  this  splendid  acquisition.  As  some 
one  has  said,  “ Man  and  nature  have  worked  in  concert  to 
produce  this  wonder  in  piled-up  rock  and  carven  stone.  The 
Mount  proves  by  its  appearance  its  history  in  adventure  ; it 
has  the  grim,  grave,  battered  look  that  comes  only  to  feat- 
ures whether  of  rock  or  of  more  plastic  mold  that  have  been 


• The  river  forms  the  boundary  between  Normandy  and  Brittany. 


104 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


carved  by  the  rough  handling  of  experience.  ’ ’ As  we  may 
plainly  observe,  the  influence  of  the  military  life  on  the  re- 
ligious made  itself  felt  in  this  monastic  architecture  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  The  constructions  reared  by  the  abbots 
of  that  epoch  show  forth  their  political  state.  Having  become 
feudal  lords,  they  took  on  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of 
such.  It  was  in  the  fifteenth  century  that  Mont  Saint- 
Michel  attained  the  zenith  of  its  grandeur.  The  Abbots  then 
possessed  not  only  the  little  islands  close  at  hand  but  even 


GRIM,  GRAVE,  AND  BATTERED 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS  105 


“ CARVED  BY  THE  ROUGH  HANDLING  OF  EXPERIENCE 


extended  their  jurisdiction  to  what  are  now  the  English 
possessions  of  Jersey  and  of  Guernsey.  The  abbey  was  fre- 
quently at  war  with  the  English,  who  were  at  one  time  mas- 
ters of  all  the  rest  of  Normandy.  But  Mont  Saint-Michel 
was  never  captured  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  even  during  the  long 
war  of  the  Hundred  Years.  As  we  mount  higher,  we  ap- 
proach the  building  known  as  “ La  Merveille “The 


io6  ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 

Marvel,”  which  has  been  pronounced  the  “most  aston- 
ishing structure  in  the  world.”  It  dates  from  the  first 
decades  of  the  twelfth  century.  It  is  a series  of  buildings 
superposed  rather  than  a single  edifice,  yet  it  is  but  a part 
of  the  abbey  ; the  palace  of  the  abbots,  the  Gothic  cathedral 
far  above,  and  innumerable  connecting  structures  form  an 
ensemble  at  once  confusing,  beautiful,  and  grand. 


INTERMINABLE  FLIGHTS  OF  STEPS 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


107 


AN  ANGLE  OF  THE  ABBEY 

Among  the  guests  who  have  been  entertained  by  the 
religious  guardians  of  the  Abbey  we  read  the  names  of  Childe- 
bert  the  Second,  Charlemagne,  Saint  Louis,  Louis  the  Elev- 
enth (who  was  not  a saint),  and  Francis  the  First.  Hun- 
dreds of  the  prisoners  filled  the  dungeons  of  the  rock  during  the 
reigns  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth  and  of  Louis  the  Fifteenth  ; 
then  the  prisoners  of  the  Revolution,  among  them  the  three 
hundred  priests  who  had  refused  to  take  the  civic  oath. 
These  times  witnessed  the  desecration  of  the  Abbey,  the 


io8 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


mutilation  of  its  carv- 
ings, the  destruction 
of  its  splendid  win- 
dows, the  obstruction 
of  its  magnificent 
apartments  by  crude 
partitions.  Only  in 
1874  was  the  splendid 
remnant  confided  to 
the  Commission  of 
Historic  Monuments 
to  assure  its  preserva- 
tion. 

Small  wonder  that 
the  Mount  was  never 
taken  by  the  English, 
for  in  those  days  the 


art  of  defense  was  developed  far  beyond 
that  of  attack.  Five  score  of  men  could 
hold  a medieval  stronghold  against  an 
army  of  as  many  thousands.  Treason 
alone  could  prevail  against  a fortress 
such  as  this.  Yet  even  treason 
failed  here,  the  traitor  losing  heart 
and  confessing  his  crime  before 
his  clever  plan  for  admitting  the 
enemy  had  been  put  in  execu- 
tion. It  was  in  1591.  An  inmate 
of  the  Abbey,  Goupignv,  by  name, 
agreed  with  the  Lord  Montgomery, 
a leader  of  the  Protestants,  to  assure 
the  secret  introduction  of  a band  of 
armed  men  under  the  command  of  the 


N DAYS  OP  OLD 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


109 


WHERE  THE  ABBOTS  TROD 

latter.  These  inen  were  to  be  drawn  up  the  perpen- 
dicular cliff  by  means  of  the  great  windlass  and  ropes 


A CLOISTER  AMID  THE  CLOUDS 


I IO 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


AN  OBJECT-LESSON  IN  HISTORY 


used  for  hoisting  supplies,  provisions,  and  ammunition  from 
the  shore  to  this  high-perched  citadel.  But,  as  the  chron- 
icler tells  us,  God  did  not  permit  this  thing  to  be  done. 
Goupigny  confessed  his  plan  ; and  when  one  night,  accord- 
ing to  agreement,  Montgomery  and  two  hundred  men  ap- 
peared at  the  base  of  the  sea-girt  cliffs,  the  double  traitor 
gave  the  signal  that  all  was  well  ; the  Protestant  soldiers,  in 
little  companies  of  eight  or  ten,  were  silently  hauled  up  by 
means  of  the  great  wheel  and  its  stout  ropes  ; but  as  each 
squad  with  breathless  eagerness  crept  into  the  dark  corridors 
to  await  the  coming  of  the  remainder  of  the  force,  the  Ab- 
bey’s knights  and  monks  fell  on  them  furiously  and  killed 
them,  sparing  none  until  the  officer  below,  alarmed  by  the 
unlooked-for  tumult,  refused  to  send  up  more  men  until 
assured  that  all  was  well.  At  this  the  governor  bade  his 
knights  spare  one  of  the  Protestants,  who  was  offered  life 
and  liberty  if  he  would  shout  the  words  of  betrayal  to  those 
below.  But,  being  a true  man  and  faithful,  the  tempted 
soldier  shouted  instead  a warning  to  his  comrades.  This  act 
of  courage  touched  the  governor's  heart,  and  he  who  would 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


1 1 1 


not  even  for  life  betray  his  friends  was  pardoned,  while  those 
whose  lives  he  had  so  nobly  saved  tied  from  the  island,  their 
hearts  bleeding  for  the  four-score  of  their  companions  left 
dead  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Abbey.  We  are  shown  the 
mighty  hoisting-wheel  itself,  hung  in  a window  of  the  Abbey 
cellar, — a cellar  which  is  hundreds  of  feet  above  the  garrets 
of  the  village  houses.  The  wheel  was  turned  by  gangs  of 
prisoners  shut  up  in  it  as  in  a giant  treadmill. 

The  Abbey  as  an  architectural  monument  defies  descrip- 
tion. Lacking  ground  space,  the  builders  of  this  Wonder  in 
Masonry  piled  their  churches,  cloisters,  dormitories,  and 
almonries  one  upon  another,  thus  creating  a mountain  of 
sculptured  stone  unique  among  the  religious  edifices  of  the 
world.  The  cloister  is  of  surprising  daintiness  in  contrast  to 
the  somber  heaviness  of  the  interiors  on  the  floors  below. 
All  is  grace  and  lightness,  elegance  and  beauty,  combined 
with  strength  and  durability.  The  variety  of  sculptured 
design  is  astonishing  ; there  is  no  repetition,  no  monotony. 
The  columns  are  arranged  in  groups  of  three,  thus  giving 
great  stability  while  retaining  the  delicacy  of  the  colonnade, 


ADIEU,  MONT  SAINT-MICHEL  ! 


I 12 


ROUND  ABOUT  PARIS 


one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  claustral  construction  in  the 
world.  It  is  indeed  worthy  to  be  classed  among  the  marvels 
of  the  world,  this  unique  pile  of  architectural  glories.  And 
France,  at  last  awake  to  the  value  of  this  proud  old  pile, 
has  already  undertaken  not  only  to  preserve,  but  to  restore 
it,  to  make  it  as  magnificent  as  when  its  abbots  ruled  like 
feudal  lords.  The  outer  ramparts,  portions  of  which  have 
fallen  under  the  weight  of  ages,  are  to  be  rebuilt  ; the  tur- 
rets topped,  as  of  yore,  with  peaked  roofs;  — and  all  the 
parapets  and  battlements  are  to  be  raised  again.  In  a 
word,  Mont  Saint-Michel,  like  Pierrefonds,  is  to  be  made 
a glorious  object-lesson  in  French  history  — another  proof 
that  Paris  is  not  all  of  France. 

Yet  gladly  we  shall  now  return  to  Paris  ; for  while  the 
nation  with  care  and  forethought  is  restoring  these  medieval 
monuments,  Paris  the  capital  is  rearing  the  gorgeous  modern 
palaces  of  the  Exposition  Universelle,  which  is  to  mark  the 
close  of  the  glorious  and  never-to-be-forgotten  nineteenth 
century. 


THE  PLACE  BLANCHE  BY  NIGHT 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 

I 


TO  SAY  that  we  do  not  care  for  expositions  is  to  confess 
that  we  are  not  interested  in  our  fellow-men.  Great 
expositions  represent  the  labor  and  the  thought  of  countless 
workers  in  every  branch  of  human  art  and  industry.  Great 
expositions  are  like  mile-stones,  marking  the  accomplished 
stages  along  the  highroad  of  Universal  Progress. 

The  greatest  exposition  of  the  nineteenth  century  was 
the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  of  1893. 

But  since  Chicago  reared,  amid  the  smoke  and  din  of 
toil,  that  marvelous  White  City  of  imperishable  memory, 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


1 16 


the  world  has  added  seven  years  to  its  long  life  ; seven  mod- 
ern years  worth  seven  medieval  centuries. 

The  Universal  Exposition  of  1900,  held  in  Paris,  was  a 
worthy  manifestation  of  these  seven  years  of  progress. 

It  was  magnificent.  It  was  so  vast  that  a hundred  days 
did  not  suffice  for  the  mere  seeing ■ of  it.  Even  in  the  space 
of  an  entire  summer,  it  was  not  possible  for  one  to  study 
and  to  assimilate  all  that  had  been  produced  by 


years  of  toil  and  cen- 
How,  then,  attempt 


• - y.-  - ■ 21s  ’m\m 


m 


1 HE  PORTE  MONUMENTALE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


n 7 


I- A PLACE  DE  LA  CONCORDE 


pictures  which  speak  more  quickly,  more  compactly,  and 
more  comprehensively  than  the  tongue  ? 

The  Place  de  la  Concorde  shall  be  our  starting-point. 
From  the  terrace  of  the  Garden  of  the  Tuileries  we  look 
down  on  the  square  and  note  an  unfamiliar  aspect  and  an 


THE  WORKERS 


1 18 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


GENIUS  OF  THE  ELECTRIC  LIGHT 


unfamiliar  feature.  Apparently,  long  ropes  of  pearls  hang  in 
festoons  from  lamp  to  lamp,  as  if  this  beautiful  public  place 
had  donned  a festal  necklace  and  assumed  a fantastic  crown 
of  gold  and  purple.  The  pearls  are  gas  lamps,  the  crown  is 
the  great  portal  to  the  Exposition,  the  Monumental  Gate, 
novel  in  conception,  gracefully  graceless,  and  harmoniously 
out  of  architectural  tune.  Conspicuously  soaring  above  this 
spacious  parallelogram,  it  was  the  object  of  no  end  of  flip- 
pant criticism.  The  Frenchmen  described 
it  in  warm  terms,  calling  it  a “ Sala- 
m a mire ,”  from  its  resemblance  to  a 
peculiar  form  of  Continental  stove. 
An  English  artist  on  beholding  it, 
exclaimed,  “Designed  undoubt- 
edly to  keep  away  the  British  pub- 
lic. ” Even  Gallic  gallantry  failed 
to  respect  the  unhappy  lady  perched 
upon  the  stove-lid.  Her  sculptor 


THE  BINET  PORTAL,  FROM  THE  BRIDGE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


119 


THE  PURPLE  GATE  AT  NIGHT 


called  her  the  typical  Parisienne,  welcoming  the  nations  of 
the  world.  Her  fellow-citizens  disowned  her,  as  unani- 
mously as  Chicago  repudiated  her  “ Christopher  Columbus 
on  the  Lake  Front  Park.  But  this  monumental  gate  is  in 
many  of  its  details  admirable.  On  either  side  are  sections 
of  a frieze  in  high  relief,  showing  the  workers  of  the  world 
bringing  to  this  universal  competitive  display  the  fruits  of 
their  industry  and  study.  They  press  forward  even  more 
eagerly  than  the  crowds  who  come  to  see  and  judge  their 


THE  GERMAN  INVASION 


120 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


‘ VOS  TICKETS.  MESSIEURS  ! ' 


products,  for  the  visitors’  at- 
tention is  diverted  at  every 
step  by  some  boldly  novel 
detail  or  design.  Unearthly 
goddesses,  robed  like  Rider 
Haggard’s  “She,’’  pose  in 
two  niches  as  the  spirits  of 
Electric  Power  and  Electric 
Light.  The  tiny  blue  dots  on 
the  walls  and  panels,  arches 
and  minarets,  are  incandes- 
cent lamps,  which  at  night 
soften  the  outlines  of  this 
weird  creation  with  purple 
luminosity.  Seen  from  the 
bridge,  its  royal  glow  re- 
flected in  the  shadowy  Seine,  the  “Porte  Monumentale  ” 
vindicates  its  architect.  It  wakes  not  only  our  astonishment 
but  our  delight  and  admiration.  Though  it  is  fantastic,  as 
the  entrance  to  an  ephemeral 
wonder- city  should  be,  it  is 
fantastic  in  a hitherto  un- 
known way.  As  an  attempt 
to  give  the  old  world  some- 
thing new,  it  is  courageous, 
successful,  and  unique,  and 
the  Parisienne  enthroned  high 
above  is,  like  a true  Parisi- 
enne, much  more  attractive 
in  the  evening  light.  We 
should  not  be  too  hard  upon 
Moreau-Vauthier,  the  sculp- 
tor, who  molded  her,  be- 
cause h gowned  her  badly. 


TICKETS 


JAM  IN  THE  CHAMPS-ELYSEES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


123 


French  sculptors  are  working  in  an  unfamiliar,  uncongenial 
field  when  they  attempt  to  clothe  the  human  form  divine. 
Among  the  thousands  of  plastic  beauties  assembled  at  the 
Exposition,  the  lady  at  the  gate  is  the  only  one  who  came 
provided  with  a trousseau.  Let  those  who  disapprove  the 
tendencies  of  Gallic  sculpture,  respectfully  salute  her  ere 
they  approach  the  entrance  wickets,  which  are  designed 
to  filter  sixty  thousand  visitors  in  sixty  minutes.  To  facili- 


BUYING  ADMISSION  TICKETS 

tate  the  ingoing  of  the  crowds  every  provision  has  been 
made,  save  one  — there  is  not  a ticket-office  anywhere  in 
sight.  The  stranger,  unfamiliar  with  the  language,  offers 
in  vain  all  kinds  of  money  to  the  gatemen.  They  will 
not  take  his  money,  but  demand  “ Ticket , monsieur , ” and 
monsieur,  unable  to  buy  or  find  the  necessary  “ticket,’’ 
begins  to  wonder  how  he  is  expected  to  break  into  the  Expo- 
tion ; and  in  search  of  information  he  wanders  aimlessly 
away.  He  soon  hears  a familiar  phrase,  “ Ticket , mon- 
sieur ? ” but  this  time  the  inflection  is  that  of  a supplication, 


124 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


BLOCKED ! 

not  that  of  a command.  He  sees  a woman  with  a baby  and 
a tired  look  — sometimes  an  old  woman,  or  a ragged  boy, 
sometimes  a pinched  old  man,  offering  sheets  of  pale  blue 
coupons  to  every  passer-by,  with  a “ Vos  tickets,  messieurs, 
mesdames?"  “ How  much?  ” the  stranger  asks,  and  the 
price  depends  upon  the  stranger  s accent.  If  he  says 
‘ ‘ com-bee-ang',  there  ’s  no  telling  what  price  he  may  have 
to  pay.  The  nominal  value  of  a ticket  is  one  franc,  or 
twenty  cents,  but  though  the  price  fluctuates  from  day  to 
day,  it  never  touches  par.  We  pay  on  sunny  Sundays 
about  fifteen  cents,  and  on  somber  Saturdays  tickets  go  beg- 
ging at  from  five  to  seven  cents.  Late  in  the  season  the 
price  fell  even  lower,  and  on  the  closing  evening  tickets  could 
be  had  in  any  quantity  at  one  centime  each  — five  tickets  for 
one  cent.  But  as  we  turn  into  the  Champs-Elysees,  to  seek 
another  and  more  hospitable  portal  to  the  Exposition,  let  me 
explain  that  this  loss  does  not  fall  upon  the  Exposition  com- 


V 3 

if  • **  * 

j'T'  ' - * rl 

• k --  — L 

I1-  ' 

l*n.  .x  ^ 

HUNGARY  AND  ENGLAND 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


127 


pany,  but  on  the  financial  institutions  and  private  individuals 
who  bought  the  bonds  to  which  coupons  exchangeable  for 
tickets  were  attached.  In  1896  the  Exposition  issued  bonds 
to  the  value  of  sixty-six  million  francs.  Each  bond,  of 
which  the  par-value  was  twenty  francs,  entitled  its  bearer  to 
twenty  admission  tickets,  the  right  to  a twenty-five  per  cent 


THE  CHAMPS-ELYSEES  GATE 

reduction  in  the  entrance  fee  to  every  sideshow  or  attraction 
within  the  gates,  reduced  railway  fares  to  and  from  Paris, 
and  a chance  of  winning  half  a million  francs  in  the  Expo- 
sition lottery.  Thus  the  Exposition  realized  its  gate  receipts 
and  flooded  the  market  with  millions  of  admission  tickets 
several  years  before  the  gates  were  built  ; for  with  these 
temptations  and  advantages  attached,  it  is  safe  to  assume 
that  bonds  were  purchased  by  every  loyal  Frenchman  : that. 


128 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


THE  CHAMPS-ELYSEES  ENTRANCE 

should  we  search  the  multitude  caught  in  one  of  the  block- 
ades here  on  the  Champs-Elysees,  we  should  find  in  the 
pocket  of  every  cabman  and  every  passenger  an  Exposition 
bond  and  a bundle  of  tickets.  Thus,  with  intending  visitors 
supplied  with  more  tickets  than  they  need,  and  millions  of 
tickets  in  the  possession  of  the  banks  and  speculators,  it  is 
not  strange  that  there  should  be  fluctuations  in  the  market 
price. 


GRAND  PALAIS  DES  BEAl’X-ARTS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


129 


At  last,  provided  with  a coupon,  the  stranger  approaches 
the  Champs-Elysees  gate  only  again  to  be  refused  admission. 
“ But  why  ? ” he  asks,  in  des- 
peration. “ Here  is  a ticket. 

Why  can  t I get  in  ? The 
gateman’s  answer  is  that  it 
is  now  only  half-past  nine. 

“ Well,  what  of  that  ? ” the 
baffled  visitor  demands,  only 
to  learn  that  from  the  open- 
ing hour  until  10  a.  m.  two 
tickets  are  required  for  admis- 
sion. From  ten  o clock  till 
dusk  one  ticket  suffices.  In 
the  evening  the  rate  is  again 
doubled,  and  on  Fridays,  the 
nights  reserved  for  the  aristo- 
cratic public,  four  tickets  are 
demanded.  Until  these  de- 
tails have  been  grasped,  the 
stranger  will  have  trouble  at 


FRAGMENT  OF  THE  FACADE 


NORTH  WING  OF  THE  GRAND  PALAIS 


9 


130 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


the  gates.  Let  us, 
then,  buy  a ream  of 
tickets,  to  be  prepared 
for  a 1 1 emergencies, 
and  before  long  we 
shall  once  more  at- 
tempt to  pass  the 
ticket-takers. 

But  first  let  us  in- 
quire what  is  to  be 
seen  of  the  promised 
land  from  the  Elysian 
Fields.  A splendid 
unfamiliar  vista  greets 
us.  The  old  Palais  de 
P Industrie,  remnant 
of  the  Exposition  of  1855,  home  of  the  Salon  for  so  many 
years,  has  disappeared  ; a broad,  fine  avenue  now  traverses  its 


PORTICO  OF  THE  GRAND  PALAIS 


IN  THE  GRAND  PALAIS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


133 


site  and  leads  the  eye  afar  to  the  gilded  dome  of  the  Hotel  des 
Invalides,  the  resting-place  of  the  great  emperor.  On  the 
right  rises  the  superb  new  palace,  which  will  be  the  home  of 
future  Salons,  on  the  left  a smaller,  daintier  structure  also 
dedicated  to  the  arts.  The  larger  palace,  le  Grand  Palais 
des  Beaux-Arts,  was  reared  as  a monument  “ to  the  Glory  of 
French  Art.”  This  magnificent  construction  of  stone  and 
steel  and  glass  is  not  altogether  faultless.  The  noble  facade 
and  the  imposing  portico,  creations  of  the  architect  Deglane, 
are  dwarfed  and  dominated  by  the  swelling  dome  and  arches 


WEST  FACADE  OF  THE  GRAND  PALAIS 


134 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


of  the  engineers.  The  scientific  overwhelms  and  crushes 
the  artistic.  The  modern  structural  masses  of  the  colossal 
skylight  rise  like  mountains  of  steel  and  crystal  above  the 
architectural  lines  of  the  Ionic  colonnade,  where  nothing  but 
the  clear  blue  sky  should  rest.  Between  the  columns  we  see 
fragments  of  a mosaic  frieze,  gorgeous  in  color,  by  which 
the  great  epochs  of  the  world  ’s  art  are  glorified.  Yet  despite 
the  presence  of  color  and  the  lavish  wealth  of  sculptural 
detail,  the  colonnade  retains  a grand  simplicity  and  dignity. 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  BEAUX-ARTS 

What  is  more  beautiful  in  architecture  than  a row  of  noble 
pillars,  be  they  Ionic,  Corinthian,  or  Doric  in  design  ? There 
is  in  every  range  of  fluted  columns  an  evocation  of  classic 
antiquity.  As  we  tread  the  pavement  of  the  porch,  these 
columns,  even  in  their  youth  and  newness,  seem  to  breathe 
something  of  the  soul  of  Greece.  They  inspire  vague  long- 
ings for  a breath  of  the  pure  air  of  Athens,  for  the  warm 
touch  of  a ray  of  Attic  sunshine. 

The  entrance  portico,  with  its  nude  figures  and  its  effec- 
tive groups,  brings  us  back  to  France.  France  to-day 


mm 


BELGIUM 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


137 


regards  herself  as  the  source  of  all 
artistic  inspiration  ; she  holds  her 
art  supreme.  Nor  can  we  blame 
her.  Do  not  even  our  sculptors 
and  our  painters,  like  those  of 
European  lands,  seek  in  her 
schools  and  studios  the  instruc- 
tion of  her  masters  ? do  they  not 
expatriate  themselves  to  dwell  in 
the  artistic  atmosphere  of  Paris  ? 
do  they  not  send  their  best  efforts  to 
her  annual  competitions,  to  be  measured 


by  her  standards  ? Truly,  France  was 
not  presumptuous  when  she  reared  this 
monument  to  the  glory  of  her  art. 
The  contents  are  worthy  of  the 
splendid  envelope.  There  are  two 
separate  exhibitions  of  paintings. 
One  is  centennial.  It  is  an  epitome 
of  French  Art  of  the  nineteenth 


IN  THE  ARENA 


138 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 

IN  THE  GRAND  PALAIS 

century,  comprising  early  and  late  examples  of  all  the  famous 
painters  of  the  nation.  Private  collections,  churches,  and 
provincial  museums  have  been  drawn  upon  for  the  precious 
pictures  necessary  to  complete  a comprehensive  illustrated 
history  of  French  art-endeavor  from  the  year  1800  to  the 
year  1890.  The  second  exhibition,  which  occupies  the  main 
portion  of  the  palace,  is  decennial,  and  illustrates  the  rapid 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


139 


growth  and  advancement  of  Gallic  art  within 
the  last  ten  years.  A host  of  famous  and  familiar 
canvases,  although  adding  to  its  retrospective 
value,  take  from  it  the  atmosphere  of  novelty  ; 
in  spite  of  many  new  compositions,  we  carry 
away  a vague  sense  of  disappointment,  born  of 
the  fact  that  we  have  seen  so  large  a part  of  this 
exhibition  before,  in  other  galleries  or  salons. 
More  than  half  the  space  within  the  palace  is 
given  to  French  artists,  the  rest  being  appor- 
tioned among  the  art-  ists  of 

all  nations.  I dare  not 

lead  vou  i 


even  one  of  the 
lotted  artists 
States . A 
to  the  Ameri- 
should  oc- 
ing  and  an  aft- 
view  of  the  best 


LA  TEMPETE 
Photo  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.Rau.Phila. 


RODIN’S  “ THE  KISS  ’ 


six  rooms  al- 
of  the  United 
casual  visit 
can  Section 
cupy  a morn- 
ernoon  ; a re- 
works would 
fill  an  evening’s 
lecture.  To  single 
out  a Whistler  or  a 
Sargent  would  do  injustice  to  the  rest.  More- 
over, photographic  reproductions  of  paintings 
are  never  wholly  satisfying  to  the  artist  or  the 
beholder.  Therefore  we  choose  the  wiser 
course,  and  after  casting  a hasty  glance  at  this 
ghostly  assembly  of  marble  person- 
ages, each  worthy  of  an  hour’s  pa- 
tient study,  we  shall  resume  our 
promenade.  I do  not  know  how 
many  pictures  and  statues  there  are 
within  this  temple  of  the  arts,  nor 


THE  TEMPEST 

Photograph,  copyrighted  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau.  Phila. 


140  PARIS  EXPOSITION 


STILL  THE  MOST  BEAUTIFUL 


along  the  endless  galleries,  their 
cipitation  vividly  re- 
called the  image  of  a 
certain  noted  piece  of 
sculpture  — a bronze 
conception  of  “The 
Tempest.  ’’  Still,  we 
must  ourselves  sweep 
through  the  Exposi- 
tion like  a whirlwind 
if  we  would  see  it  all 
in  our  allotted  time. 

However  great  our 
haste,  we  gladly  pause 
to  pay  our  homage  to 
a goddess  immemori- 
ally  old,  but  ever  and 


how  many  miles  of 
canvas  and  tons  of 
marble  have  been 
assembled  here.  I 
spent  at  least  three 
weeks  marching  past 
leagues  of  walls,  hung 
with  masterpieces  and 
mistakes,  with  loveli- 
ness and  horrors,  with 
the  creations  of  sane- 
minded  geniuses  and 
of  artistic  anarchists. 
Some  people  tried  to 
see  it  all  in  only  half  a 
day  ; and  when  we 
met  them,  tearing 
pace,  expression,  and  pre- 


MARC  ANTONY 


LE  PETIT  PALAIS 


I 


PARIS  EXPOSITION  143 


IN  THE  PETIT  PALAIS 
Photograph,  copyright  1900,  by 
Wm.  H.  Kau,  Phila. 


forever  beautiful  and  young,  the  Venus  of  Milo.  By 
right  the  Milo  Venus  claims  an  honored  place  in  every 
exposition,  and  we  resent  the  placing  of  her  image  — 
even  though  it  be  but  in  a plaster  copy  — outside  the 
Temple  of  the  Arts. 

We  turn  from  this  most  perfect  statue  of 
antiquity  to  the  most  perfect  structure  of  this 
modern  exposition.  The  Petit  Palais  is  the 
architectural  gem  of  the  Exposition.  It  con- 
tains the  retrospective  review  of  French 
Art  Objects  from  the  earliest  ages  down 
to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  larger  palace,  as  we  already  know, 
being  dedicated  to  the  art  of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  trace  the  glorious  progress  of  French  Art 
from  the  crude  naive  productions  of  the  early  Gauls  to  the 
creations  of  Rodin  and  Puvis  de  Chavannes.  France  has 
sent  the  most  precious  of  her  treasures  to  grace  for  a brief 
season  this  marvelous  museum. 

“Why,”  a friend  remarked,  “I  spent  more  than  a year 
in  an  artistic 
pilgrimage  all 
through  the 
provinces  of 
France  to  see 
the  very  things 
which  I now 
find  assembled 
in  the  galleries 
of  this  incom- 
parable treas- 
ure house. 

Should  I 
attempt  to  de- 

* THE  “LITTLE  PALACE  OF  FINE  ARTS1' 


144 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


tail  the  contents  of  even  one  room,  we  should  find  ourselves 
at  the  end  of  the  lecture  still  lingering  in  admiration  near 
the  first  cabinet  of  enamels,  gems,  or  chiseled  ornaments 
of  gold.  Tapestries  more  valuable  than  carpets  of  pure 
gold  are  lavished  on  the  walls  — ecclesiastical  riches  from 
the  sacristies  of  many  famous  churches  fill  huge  cabinets 
with  golden  jeweled  splendor.  Vases  and  plates,  the  break- 
ing of  which  would  be  national  calamities,  are  ranged  in 


COURT  OF  THE  PETIT  PALAIS 

reckless  profusion  on  the  shelves  of  crystal  cases.  No 
photograph  can  give  an  idea  of  the  interior.  We  seem 
to  be  in  an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  the  wealth  and 
artistic  refinement  of  more  than  eighteen  centuries.  Even 
the  admirable  court,  rich  in  marbles,  mosaics,  and  bronzes, 
seems  almost  poor  and  simple  to  one  who  emerges  from  the 
treasure-ladened  halls,  saturated  with  the  sight  of  old-time 
riches,  dazzled  by  the  gleam  of  diamonds  and  rubies.  We 
feel  as  if  we  were  emerging  from  a visual  shower-bath  of  gold 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


M3 


and  jewels.  Nevertheless  the  court  is  wonderfully  beautiful, 
from  the  blue  bordered  pools  to  the  superbly  sculptured  walls 
and  portals.  Yet  we  have  been  told  that  there  was  nothing 
at  the  Paris  Exposition  to  repay  the  visitor  ! 

This  place  offers  every  lover  of  the  beautiful,  weeks  of 
intense  pleasure.  But  we  must  hasten  out  through  yonder 
vestibule  into  the  broad  avenue  which  bears  the  name 
of  Russia’s  present  czar.  The  vista  across  the  Alexander 


PORTAL  OF  THE  PETIT  PALAIS 


Bridge,  which  should  be  the  most  imposing  of  the  Exposition, 
is  for  some  reason  disappointing  to  the  eye.  The  bridge, 
though  so  low  as  to  be  almost  unperceived,  were  it  not  for 
its  four  pylons,  rises  just  enough  to  obscure  the  horizon  line, 
and  to  give  to  all  the  structures  on  the  farther  shore  a 
depressed  and  insignificant  aspect.  But  the  fault  lies  in  the 
low  point  of  view,  not  in  the  buildings  and  the  bridge.  Could 
visitors  march  down  the  avenue  on  towering  stilts,  the 
inherent  grandeur  of  the  spectacle  would  be  at  once  apparent. 


10 


146 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


It  may  well 
be  called  an 
Imperial 
Thorough- 
fare, for  this 
fine  Avenue 
of  Nicholas 
the  Second, 
sweeping 
between  the 
permanent 
art  palaces, 
is  carried 
across  the 
Seine  by  the 
Bridge  of 
Alexander 
the  Third, 
and,  after 
traversing 


PYLONS  OF  THE  BRIDGE 


PERMANENT  EMBELLISHMENTS  FOR  PARIS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


149 


THE  LONG  VISTA 

the  Esplanade  des  Invalides,  terminates  at  the  Tomb  of 
Napoleon  the  First.  The  bridge  dedicated  to  the  late  Czar 
Alexander,  father  of  Nicholas  and  friend  of  France,  was  flung 
across  the  Seine  as  a symbol  of  the  alliance  between  the 
French  Republic  and  the  Russian  Empire.  Superb  in  every 
detail,  technically  a triumph  of  engineering  genius,  architec- 


THE  PONT  ALEXANDRE  III 


•50 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


turally  a triumph  of  allegoric  art,  the  Alexander  Bridge  will 
ever  remain  among  the  attractions  of  the  French  metropolis. 

Thanks  to  recent  progress  in  engineering  methods 

and  in  the  arts  of  metal,  it  has  been  possible  to  cre- 
ate steel  arches  long  enough  to  ^ join  the 

two  banks  of  the  Seine,  high  enough 

above  the  surface  of  the  river 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Win.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 

SPLENDID  MASONRY 


clear  the  funnels  of  all  tugs  and  launches,  and  low  enough 
to  keep  the  roadway  on  a level  with  the  esplanades.  Fifteen 
of  these  arches  support  the  Alexander  Bridge,  and  they  rest 
upon  foundations  laid  at  a depth  of  more  than  sixty  feet 
below  the  water-line. 

To  counteract  the  effect  of  the  necessary  flatness,  two 
stately  pylons  rise  at  each  extremity,  crowned  by  heralds  of 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


1 5 1 


Fame  and  winged  horses,  all  in  gilded  bronze.  Four  years 
of  time  and  five  million  francs  were  given  to  the  realization 
of  this  splendid  project.  Beautiful  by  night  as  well  as  day, 
is  this  brilliant  bracelet  on  the  curving  Seine  ; and  even 
though  Parisians  are  made  poorer  by  the  Exposition,  Paris 
herself  grows  richer  in  artistic  monuments.  The  profit  of 
Paris  is  represented  by  the  Alexander  Bridge  and  the  perma- 
nent Art  Palaces  — surely  a generous  compensation  for  four 
preparatory  years  of  « dirt,  disorder,  and  delay. 

Paris  was  not  ready  to  receive  her 

guests  upon  the  A PW  opening-  day.  On  April 

14  much  re-  mained  yet  undone,  and 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 


EXQUISITE  DETAIL 


152 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


dirt,  disorder,  and  delay,  still  remained  during  April,  May,  and 
part  of  June  the  most  conspicuous  exhibits.  True,  the  huge 
palaces  of  Industrial  Arts  were  externally  complete,  but  the 
interiors  were  choked  with  unopened  packing-cases  and  alive 
with  working  carpenters.  During  the  first  six  weeks  we 
scarcely  ventured  into  a big  building,  and  when  we  did  make 
our  rare  incursions  into  Chaos,  it  was  only  to 
retire  in  confusion,  and,  with  torn  clothes 
and  dusty  boots  and  hats  white  with  plaster, 


THE  BRIDGE  BY  NIGHT 


to  return  to  the  examination  of  the  promising  exterior  walls 
and  decorations.  In  time,  however,  order  out  of  chaos 
came,  and  littered  labyrinths  were  ultimately  transformed 
into  a broad-aisled  universal  bazaar,  where  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  displayed  their  decorative  wares.  The  two 
great  buildings  bordering  the  avenue,  although  at  first  glance 
identical,  differ  slightly  in  design.  One  palace  is  the  strong- 
hold of  the  French  exhibitors.  Foreign  nations  have  pitched 
commercial  camps  in  the  opposing  structures. 


THE  "PROFIT  OF  PARIS" 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


155 


1 


ARCHITECTURAL  PASTRY 


Should  I be  asked 
what  I saw  in  this 
bizarre  white  city,  I 
must  answer  that  it 
took  me  just  ten  days 
merely  to  stroll  casu- 
ally up  and  down  its 
gorgeous  aisles  and 
interesting  byways. 
How,  then,  attempt 
to  give  in  a few  brief 
words  even  a list  of 
the  objects  that  ap- 
pealed to  me  ? In  the 
French  section  behind 
the  frescoed  walls 


NATIONAL  MANUFACTURES 


wmmmm 


156 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


there  were  the  Go- 
belin tapestries  and 
also  the  tapestries  of 
Beauvais,  the  pottery 
of  Sevres,  and,  admi- 
rable above  all  the 
marvelous  exhibits  of 
jewelry  and  precious 
stones  — an  inde- 
scribable  glorification 
of  the  daintiest  of 
arts,  grown  daintier 
in  the  hands  of  the 
incomparable  jewel- 
ers and  ciseleurs  of 
France.  Turning 
from  these  almost  sin- 
fully lovely  things,  we 
cross  a circular  court 


THE  WHITE  CITY  OF  THE  ESPLANADE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


57 


to  enter  the  Russian  section,  noting,  as  we  pass  along,  the 
fountain  of  green  tiles  in  which  little  cherubim  are  play- 
ing. Russia  s most  curious,  if  not  her  most  artistic  of- 
fering, was  a map  of  France  composed  of  semi-precious 
stones,  with  gems  to  mark  the  sites  of  cities.  This  was  the 
gift  of  Nicholas  to  Paris.  And  as  we  swiftly  pass  from  nation 
to  nation  we  reach  the  graceful  portal  to  the  United  States 
section.  Above  is  a panel  by  Augustus  Koopman,  representing 
the  Industral  Arts.  It  won  for  the  artist  a silver  medal.  A 


hurried  survey  of  this  section  reveals  American  superiority  in 
many  lines ; notably  in  artistic  glass  do  we  surpass  the 


TOWARD  THE  DOME 


153 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


TAPESTRIES 


French.  There  is 
not  space  to  go  into 
detail.  Suffice  it  to 
assert  that  truly  the 
American  departs  as 
proud  of  his  artistic 
artisans  whose  ef- 
forts made  this  sec- 
tion memorable,  as 
of  his  painters  and 
sculptors,  who  in  the 
great  Palace  of  Fine 
Arts  deserved  and 
won  the  first  place 
among  the  foreign- 
ers. The  space  ac- 
corded us  in  this 
palace  not  sufficing, 


f'-' 

* 

ff1 

IHH 

fi! 

MBl  i 

mml 

I®* 

A FOUNTAIN  OF  TILES 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIAL  ARTS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


161 


American  exhibitors  constructed  in  the  gardens  bordering  the 
rear  wall  of  this  palace,  an  annex,  known  as  the  Pavilion  of 
the  Publishers.  The  site  was  granted  us  on  the  condition 
that  the  trees  which  stood  at  intervals  all  over  the  ground  be 
not  disturbed.  American  ingenuity  rose  to  the  occasion.  A 


ARTISTIC  GLASS 


building  covered  the  entire  site,  and  all  the  tree-trunks  are 
snugly  boxed  inside  the  hollow  pillars,  while  the  leafy 
branches  spread  above  the  arching  skylights  their  sheltering 
masses  of  foliage.  Here  was  published  throughout  the  sum- 
mer an  Exposition  edition  of  the  New  York  Times.  But 
lest  we  weary  of  the  Exposition  by  attempting  to  see  too 
much  in  one  short  day,  let  us  dash  away  in  a motor-carriage 


n 


162 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.  We  pass  en  route  the  new  palace 
of  the  Count  and  Countess  de  Castellane.  In  the  Bois  we 
find  a happy  gath- 
ering of  theatrical 
celebrities  indulg- 
ing in  a fete  des 
flenrs.  The  au- 
tomobiles, arm- 
ored with  buds 
and  blossoms,  are 
manned  by  ac- 
tresses, who  wage 
a merry  war  with 
floral  missiles. 

We  return  to 
the  town  by  little 


PAVILION  OF  THE  PUBLISHERS 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wo.  H.  Rau,  Phil  a. 


PORTE  DES  1NVALIDES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


165 


THE  PALACE  OF  THE  CASTELLANES 

river-steamers,  noting  as  we  approach  the  Tuileries  a splendid 
unfinished  structure  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine.  It  is  the 
Orleans  railway  station,  La  Gave  du  J^uai  d'  Or  say, 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  Cour  des  Comptes.  The 
railway  line  reaches  the  station  by  means  of  costly  subways, 
beneath  the  quais  along  the  Seine. 


IN  THE  PUBLISHERS’  PAVILION 


*66 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


Another  new  enterprise  is  the 
underground  electric 
road  called 
the  Metro- 
politan.  Its 
main  line 
traverses 
Paris  from 
the  Bois  de 
Boulogne  to 
the  Bois  de 
Vincennes,  running 
fin  de  siecle  fete  des  fleurs  beneath  the  Champs- 

Elysees  and  the  Rue  de  Rivoli.  It  is,  in  tact,  the  only  really 
rapid  system  of  transit  in  the  city.  Until  the  Metropolitan 
was  opened,  in  July,  the  public  had  no  resource  but  the 
slow  trams  and  busses.  To-day  the  passenger  exchanges 
those  stuffy  rumbling  vehicles  for  these  swift  trains,  which 
glide  through  the  cool  quiet  tunnel  at  terrific  speed. 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 

THE  ESPLANADE  DES  INVALIDES  FROM  THE  EIFFEL  TOWER 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


169 


THE  ORLEANS  STATION 


Finding  ourselves  at  the  Vincennes  terminus,  far  from  the 
Exposition  proper,  let  us  devote  a moment  to  the  neglected 
Annex  in  the  park  of  Vincennes  to  which  the  admirable 
machinery  and  transportation  exhibits  were  exiled.  The 
American  Machinery  Annex,  built  by  the  American  exhibitors 
themselves,  was  a credit  to  their  enterprise,  and  served  its 
purpose  well ; for  though  the  crowds  did  not  come,  prospect- 
ive buyers  found  it  possible  to  study  our  inventions  at  their 
ease.  The  exhibitors,  however,  led  the  life  of  exiles  ; so  far 
as  Paris  and  its  Exposition  were  concerned,  they  might  as 
well  have  been  in  factories  at  home.  We  sought  out  one 
young  man,  whose  friends  at  home  are  picturing  his  summer 
at  the  Paris  Exposition  as  a period  of  gay  frivolity  and  soft 


170 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


CARE  DU  QUAI  D'  ORSAY 

repose,  thinking  of  course  that  French  workmen  could  be 
found  to  take  charge  of  the  big  boilers  sent  over  by  his 
company  and  leave  him  free  to  wear  good  clothes  ana 
worthily  represent  the  firm  at  fashionable  functions  and  in 
gay  cafes.  But  he  did  better,  he  represented  the  sturdy 
manhood  of  the  young  American,  by  sticking  to  his  boilers 
and  making  them  perform  miracles  of  force  and  power.  He 
did  not  wear  good  clothes  and  the  names  of  gay  cafes  remain 
Greek  to  him.  He  saw  less  of  the  Exposition  than  the  six- 
day  tourists,  but  he  himself  is  an  exhibit  that  does  credit  to 
our  nation,  a type  of  the  American  who  has  resolved  to  do 
his  work  a little  better  than  the  other  fellow.  On  July  3,  a 
superb  bronze  of  Washington  was  unveiled  in  the  Place 
d’  Iena.  It  was  the  work  of  two  American  sculptors,  Daniel 
French  creating  the  figure  of  Washington,  Potter  molding 
the  splendid  charger.  The  monument,  a gift  of  the  women  of 
America  to  France,  is  a token  of  a sister  republic  ’s  gratitude. 


PARIS  EXPOSITION  171 

With  a proud,  noble  gesture,  Washington  salutes  the  nation 
that  befriended  his  struggling  people  in  the  days  of  direst  need. 

On  the  following  day  the  celebration  of  the  last  Fourth 
of  July  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  made  memorable  by  the 
unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Lafayette,  a gift  of  the  school 
children  of  the  United  States,  a memorial  of  that  admirable 
Frenchman  in  whom,  for  us,  French  friendship  is  personified. 
Thousands  of  enthusiastic  Americans  witnessed  the  unveiling 
and  applauded  the  sentiments  expressed  by  President  Loubet, 
Ambassador  Porter,  Archbishop  Ireland,  and  Commissioner- 
General  Peck  ; other  thousands,  unable  to  gain  entrance  to 
the  small  enclosure,  drowned  the  voices  of  the  orators  and 
even  the  strains  of  Sousa’s  Band,  in  a flood  of  patriotic  song. 

United  States  exposition  guards,  in  their  simple  but 
effective  uniforms,  were  conspicuous  at  all  official  functions  ; 
nor  were  there  more  of  them  than  were  needed  for  the  task 
of  guarding  the  fifty-one  sections  of  the  American  exhibit 
scattered  in  all  parts  of  the  grounds  and  in  the  distant  annex 


AN  OPEN  STATION  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN 


172 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


METROPOLITAN  CAR 

of  Vincennes.  Another  uniform  made  familiar  to  the  Paris- 
ians last  summer  was  that  of  the  members  of  Sousa  s trium- 
phant band  — a band  that  set  all  Europe  dancing  the 


THE  VINCENNES  TROLLEY 


VINCENNES  ANNEX,  FROM  THE  BALLOON 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


175 


American  two-step,  to  the  inspiring  measures  of  “The  Stars 
and  Stripes  Forever.  ’ 

During  the  hot  spell  which  Paris  suffered  in  July,  the  city 
horses  wore  straw  hats,  and  even  little  donkeys  from  the 
country,  when  they  came  to  town  bringing  the  farmer  and 
his  wife  to  market,  knew  enough  to  don  chapeaux  de  paille, 
adapted  by  means  of  perforations  to  their  auricular  neces- 
sities. For  two  weeks  the  temperature  hovered  in  the 


WHERE  THE  BALLOON  CAME  FROM 


F .KIS  EXPOSITION 


176 


nineties.  Paris  grew  dusty.  dry.  and  disagreeable.  The 
liters  the  Seme  re-tame  sc  thick  and  sluggish  that  when 
— e Chicagoan  looked  on  the  historic  river,  his  bosom  swelled 
with  pride. 

The  Chicagoan  never  rides  upon  his  river,  but  the  Seine 
is  the  great  centra',  highway  of  Paris  and  the  Exposition ; 

and  as  we  speed  beneath  the  Alexander  Bridge, 
here  the  bronze  Nymphs  of  the  Neva  and 
Seine  salute  the  passing  launches,  let  me 
outline  the  pian  of  our  second  prome- 
nade. The  two  grand  divisions  of  the 
\ Exposition  are  linked  to  one  another 
\ by  two  narrow  strips  along  the  river 
shore.  We  are.  to-day.  to  “do” 
these  long  connecting  links,  beginning 
with  the  section  on  the  left  bank  graced 
by  the  palaces  and  pavilions  of  the 


AJV  r I'La  AT  1T^7?A5£S 


PARIS  EXPOSITION  1 77 


A — COT3  — AT 


foreign  nations.  The  nrst  and  most  effective  of  them  all 
is  the  Italian  Building,  a composite  architecture  paraphase 
of  those  glories  of  Venice.  St.  Mark  s Cathedral  ani  the 
Doge  s Palace.  Seated  in  majesty  upon  the  Grand  Canal 
of  Paris.  Italy's  national  pavilion  dominates,  not  only  in 
size  but  in  artistic  worth,  all  the  pavilions  in  the  Street  of 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


178 


Nations.  The  exquisite  detail  of  its  walls  and  windows,  the 
rich  coloring  of  its  mosaics  bear  even  the  closest  scrutiny. 
And  the  interior,  although  used  as  a national  bazaar,  is  dig- 
nified and  rich  in  suggestions  of  Byzantine  magnificence. 
A marble  likeness  of  King  Humbert  and  a portrait  of  his 


BOIS  DF  VINCENNES 


widowed  queen  recall  the  tragedy  of  Monza,  and  we  ask 
again  why  individuals  must  be  made  to  suffer  for  the  sins  of 
a system  they  are  powerless  to  change  ? 

The  geography  of  the  street  of  nations  is  hopelessly  con- 
fused. To  our  surprise  we  find  that  Italy  is  bounded  on  the 
west  by  Turkey,  and  that  Turkey  encroaches  on  the  frontiers 
of  the  United  States.  “Encroaches”  is  too  mild  a word, 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  WASHINGTON  MONUMENT 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


1 8 1 


for  the  sultan’s  gaudy  pile  of  plaster,  with  its  swelling  domes, 
elbows  our  classic  construction  into  insignificance.  True  to 
the  traditions  of  its  Oriental  land,  it  enrages  the  protesting 
American  eagle  on  the  dome,  and  annoys  the  horses  har- 
nessed to  the  chariot  of  progress. 


“ THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER  ’* 


The  United  States  Pavilion  has  been  criticised  severely 
from  the  standpoint  of  art  and  architecture.  Must  we  join 
in  that  chorus  of  condemnation  ? Is  our  American  pavilion 
so  inartistic  as  its  critics  have  declared  ? Given  a favorable 
location,  with  space  for  the  development  of  the  projected 
wings,  and  given  a point  of  view  permitting  some  perspective, 
would  it  not  elicit  praise  rather  than  condemnation  ? Be- 


182 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


neath  the  arch  we  see  a copy  of  the  Washington  memorial 
statue,  behind  it  the  blue  tones  of  Robert  Reed’s  attractive 
mural  decoration.  We  must  admit  that  the  interior  is  fear- 
fully and  wonderfully  bad.  It  was  amusing,  in  a sad  sort  of 
way,  to  listen  to  the  comments  of  the  discriminating  few  and 
of  the  uncomprehending  many,  as  they  marveled  at  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  American  shields,  and  vainly  sought  the  meaning 


READY ! 

of  this  ostentatious  emptiness,  in  the  midst  of  which  a group 
of  maddened  horses  are  plunging  in  frantic  efforts  to  escape. 
The  horses  have  our  sympathy.  True,  a model  post-office 
stands  for  utility,  and  an  army  of  leather  chairs  and  sofas  for 
comfort  ; but  are  these  things  a worthy  expression  of  the 
genius  of  our  people  ? 

But  let  us  fall  back  upon  our  most  prominent  exhibit, 
the  people  themselves.  They  were  in  evidence  upon  the 


" VIVE  WASHINGTON!” 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


185 


day  of  dedication.  They  came  as  an  unclassified  exhibit, 
which  should  be  marked  “Al,”  for  they  were  the  best- 
looking  people  at  the  Exposition.  In  this  eager  crowd  we 


DEDICATION  OF  LAFAYETTE  MONUMENT 

saw  more  pretty  girls  and  pretty  frocks,  more  handsome, 
wholesome  looking  men,  more  smiling  faces,  and  more  hon- 
est courtesy  than  at  any  other  gathering  in  Paris. 


1 86 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


The  French  police  had  orders 
to  hold  the  arriving  crowds  at 
a given  distance.  To  do  so 
they  were  compelled  to 
join  hands  and  form  a 
living  barrier;  but 
when  our  “March 
King  ’ ’ Sousa  lifted 
his  musical  scepter, 
his  eager  subjects 
broke  through  that 
chain  of  little  guardians 
of  the  peace,  and  sweep- 
ing the  protesting  gen- 
darmes off  their  feet,  rushed 
down  the  terrace  in  a demo- 
cratic avalanche.  Yet  this  was 

From  photo,  copyright  1900  by  W.  H.  Rau,  Phila.  ^ j humQr  ^ 

THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES  FOREVER! 


ITALY,  TURKEY,  UNITED  STATES.  AND  AUSTRIA 


THE  GIFT  OF  AMERICAN  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


89 


even  the  punctilious  Continentals  smiled  to  see  the  police 
calmly  reform  their  line  behind  the  crowd. 

The  American  people  found  in  their  pavilion,  if  not  delight 
of  eye  and  aesthetic  satisfaction,  at  least  an  atmosphere  of 
democratic  hospitality,  in  pleasing  contrast  to  the  repellent 
official  coldness  that  possessed  the  guardians  of  the  more 
tasteful  palaces  of  many  of  the  European  nations. 


“ OH,  MR.  SOUSA  ! " 


iyo 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


"c’EST  MMK.  PECK  QUI  ARRIVE” 

A great  event  at  the  American  pavilion  was  the  official 
visit  of  President  Loubet.  He  is  a short,  gray-bearded  man, 
with  a face  best  described  as  kindly  and  sympathetic.  He  is 
always  accompanied  by  M.  Picard,  the  commissioner-general 
of  the  Universal  Exposition,  a tall  thin  man  with  sharp 
eagle-like  features  worn  to  a skeleton  by  the  tremendous 


THE  UNITED  STATES  GUARDS 


THE  SEINE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


193 


cares  that  rest  upon 
him.  Wherever  the 
official  cortege  goes, 
there  go  the  official 
photographers  with 
their  ladders  and  long 
tripods.  We  see  them 
a moment  later  await- 
ing the  presidential 


■sr 


exit  from  the  Bosnian 
Pavilion.  Between  the 
pavilion  of  the  United 
States  and  Bosnia- 
Herzegovina  rises  the 
Austrian  palace.  Its 
interior  is  furnished  ac- 
cording to  the  curious 
decorative  standards  of 
the  Viennese  taste. 


13 


DURING  DOG  DAYS 


194 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


Following  the  broad  terrace  we  pass  beneath  the  arch- 
way of  the  Hungarian  Tower,  and  find  that  another  geo- 
graphical hyperbole  makes  England  a near  neighbor  of 
Hungary.  An  ideal  home  is  Britain  s offering  to  the  Street 
of  Nations,  a dwelling,  restful  in  design,  irreproachable  in 
taste,  and  unostentatiously  magnificent.  It  is  a replica  of 
Kingston  House,  a manor  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Upon 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 


A VISTA 


SUGGESTIONS  OF  SAN  MARCO 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


197 


ON  THE  SEINE 

the  walls  of  its  exquisite  apartments  hang  pictures  by  Burne- 
Jones,  Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  and  Turner.  In  striking 
contrast  to  the  sober  British  gray,  is  the  bright  blue  of 
Persia’s  mosque-like  palace.  The  terrace  on  the  roof  is  an 
admirable  point  of  view  whence  to  look  down  on  Bel- 


RIVER  NYMPHS 


198 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ITALY 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 


ON  THE  PARISIAN  GRAND  CANAL 


BOSTON  YOUNG  WOMEN’S 


A BIT  OF  OLD  ITALY 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


201 


THE  ITALIAN  INTERIOR 


gium’s  medieval  city-hall,  a faithful  representation  of  the 
Hotel  de  Ville  of  the  town  of  Audenarde.  It  was  in  these 
things  that  the  Paris  Exposition  was  most  admirable.  The 
artistic  fragments  of  foreign  lands  were  so  grouped  that  one 
might  travel  round  the  world  in  half  a day  and  breathe  the 
atmosphere  of  a different  country  at  almost  every  step. 


202 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


P'roni  Belgium  we  skirt  the  coast  of  Norway  to  the 
banks  of  the  German  Rhine.  Norway  shows  us  a huge  red 
cottage,  filled  with  Nansen’s  trophies,  and  other  things  that 
tell  of  the  North  seas.  Germany  challenges  our  attention 
with  a gorgeous  structure,  lifting  an  unmistakably  Teutonic 
tower  above  the  Gallic  Seine.  Genuineness  was  the  keynote 
of  every  manifestation  of  the  artistic  and  industrial  genius  of 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  W.  H.  Rau. 


“ HOORAY ! 


ON  THE  TERRACE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


205 


Germany.  No  other  nation  illustrated 
more  convincingly  its  rapid  progress  in 
the  last  decade.  While  glorying  in  her 
past  achievements,  the  Kaiser’s  land 
points  resolutely  to  the  future  and 
dreams  of  greater  things  to  come. 

Not  so  with  Spain,  whose  palace 
rises  on  the  right.  With  quiet  dig- 
nity Spain  seems  to  say,  “ Behold 
what  I have  been  ! She  bids  us 
enter  a cold,  almost  vacant  court,  and 
do  homage  to  a statue  of  Velasquez, 
whose  pictures  are  among  the  most  pre- 
cious of  her  remaining  treasures.  Then  she 

, j THE  BIRD  OK  FREEDOM 

....  » — i]  leads  us 

into  high-ceiled  halls  and 
corridors  where  we  may 
feast  our  eyes  upon  the 
loveliest  tapestries  in  all 
the  world.  But  the  tap- 
estries are  Flemish,  fruits 


THE  CHARIOT  OF  PROGRESS 


206 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


FAMILIAR  SIGNS 

of  the  Spanish  con- 
quest of  the  Nether- 
lands. She  shows  us 
two  or  three  superb 
fragments  of  chis- 
eled, inlaid  armor, 
and  an  incomparably 
dainty  fan,  thus  evok- 
ing with  eloquent 
simplicity  the  days 
when  Spanish  knight- 
hood was  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world. 

Another  step  and 
we  have  crossed  the 


AN  ORIENTAL  TEMPLE 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  W.  IL  Rau. 

DEDICATION  DAY  AT  THE  U.  S.  BUILDING 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


209 


RIVERSIDE  RESTAURANTS 

frontier  of  the  little  principality  of  Monaco.  We  are  sur- 
prised to  find  frivolous  Monte  Carlo  represented,  not  by  a gay 
Casino,  crowned  with  a roulette  wheel,  and  decorated  with 
portraits  of  the  King  of  Spades,  the  Oueen  of  Diamonds, 
and  the  Jack  of  Hearts,  but  by  a somber  pile  of  stone,  an 
imposing  fortified  chateau,  rivaling  in  size  the  buildings  of 
the  largest  nations. 

It  is  a replica  of  the  chateau  of  Albert,  Prince  of  Monaco, 
whose  kingdom,  though  apparently  only  a few  square  miles 


14 


210 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


GREAT  BRITAIN 


BRITISH  “ BOBBY 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


21  I 


in  extent,  is  in- 
finitely broad,  for 
the  bottom  of  the 
sea  belongs  to 
him  by  right  of 
scientific  con- 
quest. Albert  of 
Monaco  is  a royal 
scientist.  His 
oceanographic 
explorations  have 
revealed  to  us 
many  of  the  mys- 
teries of  that  al- 
m o s t unknown 
continent  hidden 
by  the  deep  wa- 
ters of  the  globe. 


Sweden’ 
brown  freak  of 
shingled  turrets 
and  balconie 
and  towers  serves 
to  throw  i n t 
the  most  pleas- 
ing contrast  the 
modest  Greek  pa- 
vilion in  the  form 
of  a tiny  Byzan- 
tine basilica. 
Within,  alas,  we 
find  exposed  noth- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  DOME 
BY  NIGHT 


LA  FER1A 


2 I 2 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ing  but  modern  products  — tan  shoes  and  patent  leather, 
dried  currants  and  cheap  wines.  A few  blocks  of  Pentelic 
marble  are  the  only  things  suggestive  of  glorious  antiquity. 
The  Servian  pavilion  is  likewise  a church  of  Byzantine  de- 
sign. Mexico’s  contribution  to  this  cosmopolitan  array  of 


ON  ATTEND  M.  LOl/BET 


palaces  rises  below  the  Bridge  of  Alma,  and  there  are  many 
attractive  pavilions,  notably  those  of  Finland,  Rumania, 
Bulgaria,  and  Denmark,  ranged  in  a second  row  behind  the 
more  conspicuous  palaces,  which  rise  in  friendly  rivalry  upon 
the  terraced  shore. 

The  lower  terrace  is  one  long,  international  restaurant, 
where  it  is  possible  to  make  a gastronomic  tour  around  the 


GERMANY  AND  SPAIN 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


215 


world.  We  breakfast  to  the 
music  of  Hungarian  gypsies  ; 
at  five  o clock  we  take 
tea  to  the  tinkling  of 
Neapolitan  guitars  ; we 
dine  to  the  sound  of 
the  Servian  tambou- 
ritza  or  usually  amid 
the  clacking  of  Cas- 
tillian  castanets.  The 
restaurant  called  “La 
Feria,’’  beneath  the 
Spanish  building,  was  by 
common  consent  the  rendez- 
vous of  those  who  sought  good 
cooking,  gaiety,  and  noise. 

French  chefs,  mandolin  players  m.  loubet  and  m.  picakd 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  \\  m.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 


OUR  MARCH  KING 


216 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


MEXICO 

from  Madrid,  and  dancers  from  Seville,  provided  delecta- 
tion for  the  palate,  ear,  and  eye.  An  evening  at  “La 
Feria  ” was  an  experience  not  to  be  omitted.  Next  door  we 


KifMMCX  fim 

|||»  HniU’iM  «»«.  iiikiii,h  iihu^. 

MONACO  AND  SWEDEN 


JN  THE  UNITED  STATES  PAVILION 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


219 


find  the  German 
restaurant,  more 
sedate  but  always 
crowded  to  the 
water  sedge.  In- 
terminable rows 
of  tables  stretch 
away  in  two  direc- 
tions, and  at  these 
tables  people  of 
every  nationality 
are  striving  to  ap- 
pease an  interna- 
tional appetite. 
But  if  by  day  we 
find  this  section 
pleasing  to  the 
senses,  by  night 
its  fascinations 
increased 
hundred- 


a 1 e 


one 


fold.  Then  thousands  of  electric  lights 
outline  every  palace  against  the 
mystery  and  blackness  of  the 
sky.  The  towers  of  Monaco 
and  Spain,  the  Turkish  tur- 
rets, and  the  dome  and 
arch  of  the  United  States 
stand  out  in  luminous  re- 
lief. The  music  of  a 
score  of  orchestras  comes 
to  us  in  a faint  universal 
cacophony,  and  the  mingled 
murmur  of  more  tongues 


GERMANY 


220 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


than  Babel  boasted  is  wafted  from  this  ephemeral  cosmopolis 
across  the  silent  waters  of  the  Seine.  But  the  placid  Seine 
was  not  always  silent  and  undisturbed.  During  the  magnifi- 
cent Venetian  Fetes,  in  August,  processions  of  illuminated 
barges  glided  and  circled  and  defiled  between  the  banks,  fill- 
ing the  night  with  glare  of  torches  and  lanterns  and  with  the 
blare  of  trumpets  and  the  sound  of  song  and  the  sudden 


From  photograph.  copyright  1900,  by  Wm,  H Rau.  Phila. 

THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE 


SPAIN 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


223 


GREECE  AND  SERVIA 


SUNDAY  CROWDS 


224 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


brilliancy  of  pyrotechnic  fires.  In  the  distance  loomed  the 
twin  towers  of  the  Trocadero,  and  over  all,  like  the  ribs  of 
an  incandescent  umbrella,  revolved  the  search-lights  of  the 
Eiffel  Tower. 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


II 


FRONTING  the  Seine,  between  the  Bridge  of  Alma  and 
the  Bridge  of  Jena,  is  the  long  narrow  “ Palace  of  the 
Armies  of  the  Sea  and  the  Land.”  Strangely  enough,  the 
same  roof  shelters  also  the  section  devoted  to  Hygiene. 

From  the  hall  where  the  bust  of  Pasteur  is  enshrined 
amid  the  instruments  that  served  him  in  his  marvelous  experi- 
ments, we  may  turn  to  the  exhibits  of  artillery  and  warships  ; 
from  the  life-saving,  health-insuring  inventions  of  that  great 
benefactor  of  humanity,  to  the  death-dealing  contrivances 
used  in  war  on  land  and  sea. 


228 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


Eloquently  suggestive 
fare  is  the  great  central 
hold.  Armored  sentinels 
equestrian  statues  of  the 
mortal  Bayard  stand  with- 
their  presence  alone  is 
and  chivalry  of  battles 
armies  long  ago.  There 
turesqueness  in  the  war- 
fortress  is  constructed 
an  engineer.  Armies  to- 
khaki  — the  steel  is  worn 
Creusot 
stained 


of  the  pomp  of  oldtime  war- 
portal  of  this  staff  strong- 
are  posted  at  the  bridge,  and 
brave  du  Guesclin  and  the  im- 
in  the  shadow  of  the  archway; 
sufficient  to  evoke  the  poetry 
that  were  fought  by  steel-clad 
is  but  little  poetry  and  pic- 
fare  of  to-day.  The  modern 
not  by  an  architect  but  by 
day  are  clad  in  cloth  and 
by  the  forts  and  ships.  The 
dome,  crimson 
and 


A NOVEL  ASPECT  OF  THE  EIFFEL  TOWER 


hideous,  like  a great  gory  menace,  stands  strikingly  out 
amid  the  palaces  of  peace,  an  extremely  discordant  stain 
upon  this  Parisian  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,  where 
a large  majority  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  are  assem- 
bled to  render  unmistakable  proofs  of  universal  amity 
and  love.  It  is  the  creation  of  the  firm  of  Schneider 


VICTORIOUS  FLEET 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


231 


& Company,  makers 
of  the  famous  Creu- 
sot  cannon,  elec- 
trical apparatus,  and 
locomotives.  Behind 
its  ugly,  threatening 
dome  runs  the  ele- 
vated moving  side- 
walk, one  of  the 
most  amusing  fea- 
tures of  the  Exposi- 
tion. The  French- 
men called  it  a 
Plate-forme  Mobile 
— there  are,  in  fact, 
three  platforms,  the 
first  is  stationary, 


THE  WAR  PALACE 


232 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ARMORED  SENTRIES 


LE  CHATEAU  D*  EAU 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


233 


the  second  moves  at 
a pace  equal  to  an 
easy  walk,  and  the 
third  rolls  along  about 
as  fast  as  a woman  in 
tight  shoes  can  run. 
To  step  from  the  im- 
mobile platform  to 
one  plate-forme  mo- 
bile, or  vice  versa, 
required  little  skill  ; 
yet  nine  women  out 
of  every  ten,  with 
that  innate  feminine 
impulse  to  face  the 
wrong  way,  found  it 
impossible  to  effect  a 


SCHNEIDER  ET  CIE-CRKUSOT 


WWW 


234 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


THE  MOVING  SIDEWALK 


ON  THE  PLATE-FORME  MOBILE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


235 


CREUSOT  CANNON 


change  of  base 
without  a stum- 
ble and  a shriek. 
Many  of  them, 
once  upon  the 
moving  platform, 
remained  trans- 
fixed, clutching 
a post,  irrevo- 
cably swept  on 
until  rescued  by 
some  uniformed 
attendant.  The 
movable  side- 
walk is  continu- 
ous, and  in  the 
course  of  its  me- 
anderings,  it  car- 
ries us  through 
a busy  street  on 
a level  with  the 
second-story 


I 


IS  ■ 

1 

appareilsJSyquei 

191 B*  PEREIRE 
I0I.RU E rA^Umui) 


WAXEN  SMILES 


236 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


windows.  Hence 
new  and  tempting 
opportunities  for 
flirtatious  French- 
men. We  think 
at  first  glance  we 
have  made  a great 
impression,  but 
the  lady  in  the 
window  is  impar- 
tial, she  smiles  a 
waxen  smile  and 
waves  an  artificial 
hand  at  the  end- 
less tide  of  pass- 
ers-by; so  without 
regret  we  roll  on.  ROLL,NC  ON  THE  TROTTO,R  ROUI-ANT 


PAVILION  OF  THE  PRESS 


GLIDING  PAST  PALACES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


239 


A witty  suggestion  was  made  by  our  indefatigable  ambas- 
sador, General  Porter.  During  the  season  he  was  called 
upon  to  make  a speech  in  almost  every  corner  of  the  Exposi- 
tion. “Why,”  he  exclaimed  one  day  in  desperation, 
“should  I write  many  speeches  and  deliver  them  to  the 
same  official  audience  from  various  platforms  ? Why  not 


PALACE  OF  SOCIAL  ECONOMY 


LA  RUE  DE  PARIS 


240 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


prepare  one  speech,  and  deliver  it  in  a continuous  burst  of 
eloquence,  from  the  Plate-forme  Mobile  ? " 

Another  name  for  this  invention  is  “ Trot  loir  Roulant.  ” 
Now  the  verb  rouler  means  “ to  roll,  and  when  a punning 
Frenchman  saw  a group  of  English  tourists  plant  themselves 
upon  the  rolling  walk,  he  waved  his  hat  and  cried,  “ All , 
bravo!  — Route  Britannia!"  until  Britannia’s  subjects 
had  “ rouled  ” out  of  sight. 


BABY  SHOW 

Having  finished  sightseeing  on  the  left  bank,  visitors 
may  cross  a busy  bridge  and  explore  the  narrow  strip  along 
the  right  bank  of  the  Seine. 

The  simple,  dignified  white  building  is  the  Palace  of 
Social  Economy.  It  served  as  headquarters  of  the  various 
Congresses  of  wise  men  and  learned  women  which  assembled 
in  Paris  during  the  summer  of  1900. 

I fear  that  few  of  us  attended  those  meetings  of  the 
sages.  The  sunny  out-of-door  attractions  offered  a tempta- 
tion not  easy  to  resist.  Among  these  frivolous  and  superficial 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


241 


CHICAGO  NEAPOLITANS 


IK 


'*  LA  LOIES  ” FLYING  SKIRTS 


242 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


features  of  the  inter- 
national kermess,  the 
Rue  de  Paris  was 
at  first  sight  rich- 
est in  promises  of 
merriment.  A 
! score  of  tiny  the- 
aters were  here 
with  ballets,  tab- 
leaux vivants,  cin- 
£f  ematographs,  and 
singers.  There  was 
a house  built  upside- 
down,  a disappoint- 
ment, by  the  way,  be- 
cause the  inverted  ef- 
fect of  the  interior  was 
due  to  mirrors  only. 
There  was  an  exhibi- 
tion of  infants  con- 
fined in  patent  incu- 
bators. It  must  be  confessed  that  in  attendance  the  baby- 
show  had  much  the  best  of  it,  thanks  to  the  magic  words 
above  the  door,  which  even  those  who  knew  but  little  French 
could  easily  translate:  “ Admission  Gratis.  ” But  after  see- 
ing the  helpless  little  packets  of  humanity  in  their  coffin- 
like glass  cases,  who  could  refuse  to  drop  a few  sous  into 
the  tray  extended  by  a nurse.  There  were  five  or  six 
similar  baby-shows,  all  drawing  large  crowds  and  equally 
large  contributions. 

Near  by  we  find  an  orchestra  of  costumed  Neapolitans. 
After  the  inevitable,  but  ever-pleasing  “ Funiculi-P'unicula  ” 
and  the  song  of  “Bella  Napoli, ’’ the  little  boys  pass  round 
a tambourine  for  pennies. 


KAWAKAMI  IN  THE  GREAT  FIGHTING  SCENE  FROM  “THE  LOYALIST 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


245 


BONSHOMMES  GUILLAUME 


‘ Where  do  you  come 
from?  ” we  inquire  in 
French. 

“ America, 
replies  a boy. 

Th  i nking 
this  a ruse  to 
loosen  our 
purse-strings, 
we  say  in  En- 
glish, “Well, 
then,  if  you 
come  from  Amer- 
ica, tell  us  just 
where  you  live  ? 

The  younger  boy  pipes 
up  in  a familiar  dialect. 


246 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


“Sure  ting,  we  all  lives  in  Chicago  on  de  West  Side, 
corner  of  Canal  and  Twelfth.” 

Another  transatlantic  feature  is  the  little  theater  of  our 
compatriot,  Miss  Loie  Fuller,  the  creator  of  those  dazzling 
dances  in  which  the  dancer  seems  to  be  an  incandescent 
butterfly  or  an  animated  spectrum.  No  one  could  possibly 
mistake  the  Loie  Fuller  theater  ; so  expressive  is  the  exte- 


“ THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  LAUGH  " 

rior  design  that  we  can  almost  feel  the  swish  of  flying  skirts. 
It  was  the  most  successful  enterprise  in  all  the  street,  thanks 
to  La  Loie  s luminous  personality,  and  to  her  wisdom  in 
engaging  for  the  season  that  little  company  of  players  from 
Japan,  who  last  winter  astonished  American  theater-goers 
with  their  marvelous  skill  in  every  form  of  dramatic  art, 
from  grotesque  dancing  to  the  tragic  drama,  with  death- 
scenes  so  intense  as  to  be  positively  painful. 


Photograph  by  Byron 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


249 


FLOWERS  AND  FERNS 

Italy,  Yacco  is  the  ac- 
tress of  the  world.” 
Even  the  seemingly  gro- 
tesque dramatic  methods 
of  the  Japanese  could 
not  dim  the  flame  of  ge- 
nius that  glows  in  Sada 
Yacco.  As  for  her  con- 
sort, Otojiro  Kawakami, 
he  is  masterly  in  his  por- 
trayal of  the  heroes  of 
old  Japan.  His  stage 
contests  in  which 
he  overcomes 
so  many  of  his 


Sada  Yacco  con- 
quered Paris  and  won 
from  even  the  most  crit- 
ical of  Frenchmen  the 
acknowledgment  of  the 
greatness  of  her  art. 
One  famous  critic, 
speaking  of  the  univers- 
ality of  her  art, — its 
independence  of  lan- 
guage limitations, — said 
that  “ while  Bernhardt 
is  the  actress  of  France, 
and  Duse  the  actress  of 


GRACEFUL  GREENHOUS. 


250  PARIS  EXPOSITION 


enemies  by  means  of  “ Jiujutsu  are  the  most  marvelous  stage 
fights  ever  devised.  The  Japanese  players  made  the  artistic 
success  of  the  Exposition  of  1900  ; all  other  entertainments  of- 
fered on  the  grounds  were  commonplace  and  uninteresting. 

Another  interesting  section  of  the  right  bank  is  the  recon- 
struction of  the  Paris  of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  is  as  if  the 
ghost  of  medieval  Paris  had  risen  from  the  Seine  to  look 
from  its  quaint  gable  windows  upon  the  Paris  of  the  present. 
In  its  streets  the  people  of  to-day  mingle  with  the  people  of 
the  past  ; and  well  may  we  believe  “there  were  giants  in 

those  days,  ’ ’ as 
we  observe  the 
gigantic  figure 
striding  at  the 
head  of  a fantas- 
tic procession. 
The  illusion  of  a 
vanished  age  is 
successfully  cre- 
ated ; the  modern 
visitors  seem  out 
of  place,  w h i 1 e 
the  costumed  in- 
habitants harmo- 
nize perfectly 
with  their  sur- 
roundings. In 
the  streets  are 
theaters,  taverns, 
churches,  shops, 
and  restaurants, 
and  even  stroll- 
ing clowns  and 
mountebanks 


“ OLD  PARIS  ” 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


251 


PEOPLE  OF  THE  PAST  AND  OF  THE  PRESENT 


IN  THE  PARIS  OF  CYRANO  S DAY 


252 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


MEDIEVAL  JOKERS 

tect  whose  magic 
pencil  has  sum- 
moned from  the 
past  this  vision  of 
a Paris  which  had 
theretofore  existed 
for  us  only  in  im- 
agination. D’Ar- 
tagnan  or  Cyrano 
de  Bergerac  would 
recognize  in  it  the 
Paris  of  their  day. 

Below  Old  Paris 
we  pass  the  large 


performing  in  the 
streets.  There  is 
a printing-office 
whence  issues  the 
“ Gazette  of  Old 
Paris,  ’ ’ which  re- 
tails in  quaint  type 
the  news  and  scan- 
dals of  the  four- 
teenth century. 
The  architectural 
studies  for  this  re- 
construction were 
made  by  Albert 
Robida,  the  archi- 


“THERE  WERE  GIANTS  IN  THOSE  DAYS ** 
From  photographs,  copyright  1900.  by  Win.  H.  Rau.  Phtla 


BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  OLD  PARIS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


255 


restaurant  of  the  Etablissements  Duval , and  soon  arrive 
gardens  of  the  Trocadero. 

The  Palace  of  the  Trocaddro,  a remnant  of 
the  Exposition  of  1878,  takes  its  name  from  a 
victory  near  the  Spanish  town  of  Cadiz  in  1823, 
when  a fort  called  the  Trocadero  was  captured 
by  the  French.  In  this  section  are  found 
the  exhibits  of  Russia,  China, 
Japan,  South  Africa,  the 
French  colonial  pos- 
sessions, and  of  the 
colonies  of  several 
European  states. 
Holland  sends  a 
fragment  of  a sculp- 
tured temple  from 
the  island  of  Java, 
and  two  very  curious 
houses  from  the 
Pandang  region  of 
Sumatra.  Millions 
of  Ma- 
lays 


zoc 


goti-a 


mo 


I f ml.T 


ktSmf**' 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900, 
by  Wm.  H.  Rau.  Phila. 


“ ENTRES  MESDAMES!  MESSIEURS’" 

are  ruled  by  the 
Dutch  in  the  east- 
ern archipelago 
that  borders  our 
new  Philippine  pos- 
sessions on  the  south 
The  expositions  of  the 
English  colonies  are 


MOUNTEBANKS 


256 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


VIEUX  PARIS 

grouped  around  the  turreted  pavilions  of  India  and  of  Ceylon. 
Canada  and  Australia  display  their  admirable  useful  products 


A DUVAL  RESTAURANT 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


257 


in  pavilions  that  are  utilitarian  in  aspect  rather  than  artistic. 
Even  the  Japanese,  most  tasteful  people  in  the  world,  have 
caught  the  fever  for  Occidental  ugliness.  Their  tea-houses, 
which  are  not  Japanese  at  all,  retail  Oriental  beer,  and  their 
shops  are  stocked  with  the  kind  of  trash  that  sells  in  big 
department  stores.  Even  the  Imperial  Pavilion  was  built 
by  European  carpenters  and  lacks  that  indefinable  something 
which  gives  incomparable  distinction  to  everything  truly  Jap- 
anese. Opposite 
Canada’s  pavilion 
stands  that  of  the 
South  African  Re- 
publics. By  some 
strange  coinci- 
dence the  site  al- 
lotted to  the  Boer 
Republic  is  upon 
the  very  border  of 
the  British  colo- 
nial section.  The 
Transvaal  brings 
to  Paris  not  only 
samples  of  its 
gold  and  its  dia- 
monds, but  also  a 
complete  active  illustration  of  the  mining  methods  used  in 
obtaining  the  four  hundred  million  dollars’  worth  of  precious 
metal  represented  by  the  towering  pyramid  she  has  here  set 
up.  The  small  cube  at  the  base  represents  a brick  worth  a 
million  francs.  A veritable  gold-mine  has  been  created  in 
subterranean  corridors,  lined  with  genuine  ore  brought  from 
South  Africa.  We  closely  follow  the  ore  through  every  proc- 
ess, from  the  first  stroke  of  the  drill  or  pick  to  the  final 
molding  into  bricks. 


17 


258 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


From  South 
Africa  to  Russia  is 
but  a step  across 
this  interesting 
“ map  ” in  the 
Trocadero  Gar- 
dens. Of  Russia, 
France  ’s  chief 
ally,  much  was 
expected,  and 
amply  the  czar  ’s 
government  has 
fulfilled  the  ex- 
pectations of  the 
French.  The 
Russian  Palace, 
a very  imposing 

the  celestial  globe  Kremlin , domi- 

nates this  northern  section,  as  Russia  herself  dominates  the 


THE  TROCADERO  GARDENS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


261 


lands  of  the  far  north.  But  the  one  fact  most  strongly  em- 
phasized by  Russia’s  comprehensive  manifestation  is  the  ap- 
proaching completion  of  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway.  “ From 
Moscow  to  Peking,  ’ ’ the  motto  written  on  the  walls,  signifies 
to  jealous  powers,  “Eastward  the  Star  of  Empire  takes  its 
way.’’  For  just  so  surely  as  the  Anglo-Saxon  star  advances 
westward,  so  does  the  star  of  the  Slavonic  race  Hash  like  a 
comet  toward  the  east.  Beware  of  the  rain  of  fiery  meteors 
when  these  hostile  planets  shall  clash  ! 


THE  PONT  D’  JENA  AND  THE  TROCADERO 


262 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


INDIA  AND  CEYLON 


In  the  Russia  pavilion  we  make  a mimic  journey  over  the 
Trans-Siberian  with  the  aid  of  painted  panoramas  which  roll 


FIVE-O'CLOCK 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


263 


past  the  window  of  a stationary  train.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
we  lunch  in  luxurious  dining-cars  meantime  glancing  out 
upon  the  flying  landscape,  noting  all  the  striking  scenic  fea- 
tures of  the  new  railway  route  from  Europe  to  the  Sea  of 
Japan.  On  issuing  from  the  cars  we  find  ourselves  within 
the  precincts  of  Peking.  There  is  a deep  political  signifi- 
cance in  the  juxtaposition  of  the  Russian  and  the  Chinese 


NOT  AT  ALL  JAPANESE 


264 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


CANADA 

sections.  We  enter  a Russian  portal,  vve  sit  in  Russian 
cars,  and,  without  crossing  any  marked  frontier,  we  sud- 
denly discover  that  our  surroundings  are  Chinese. 


THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  REPUBLIC 


SADA  YACCO,  THE  FIRST  ACTRESS  OF  JAPAN 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


267 


THE  GOLD  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 

with  local  color  and  steeped  in  exotic 


Approaching  the 
French  colonial  sec- 
tion which  may  aptly 
be  called  the  Parisian 
“Midway,”  we  find 
the  counterfeit  pre- 
sentments of  its  deni- 
zens portrayed  upon  a 
wall.  They  are  types 
of  the  inhabitants  of 
all  the  colonies  and 
the  protectorates  of 
France.  And  in  the 
Trocadero  Gardens 
little  fragments  from 
their  far-off  lands  are 
scattered,  brilliant 
atmosphere.  Algeria, 


ASIATIC  RUSSIA 


268 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


THE  TRANS-SIBERIAN  PANORAMA 

the  largest  African  possession  of  France,  here  lifts  its  grace- 
ful green-tiled  minarets  and  its  contrasting  snowy  domes. 


PICTURESQUE  CHINA 


THE  RUSSIAN  ORIENT 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


271 


With  a delightful  thrill,  born  of  the  thought  that  this  is 
not  the  first  time  that  we  see  it,  we  enter  the  Algerian  street  ; 
we  even  recognize  the  wily  traders  who  cheated  us  in  the 
real  African  bazaars,  six  years  ago.  We  hear  the  sound  of 
Arab  flutes,  the  chink  of  metal  castanets,  and  the  rhythmic 
wailing  of  the  “Ouled  Navels,  ” who  are  dancing  impassively 


A PORTAL  FROM  PEKING 


272 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


in  neighboring  caf£s.  Near  by,  the  Protectorate  of  Tunis 
offers  picturesque  attraction  to  those  who  love  the  color 
and  the  quaintness  of  the  Barbary  States. 

Behind  the  Trocadero  rises  the  panorama  illustrating 
Major  Marchand’s  heroic  march  through  Central  Africa,  from 
sea  to  sea,—  a march  that  ranks  with  the  achievements  of 
Livingstone  and  Stanley,  and  yet  ended  in  the  inglorious 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 

" INDIGENES  ” 


PARIS  EXPOSITION  273 


capitulation  to 
the  supremacy  of 
England  at  Fa- 
shoda.  Near  here 
another  panora- 
ma tells  the  story 
of  the  conquest  of 
Madagascar,  now 
a loyal  possession 
of  the  French 
Republic.  Nor 
must  we  forget 
the  Asian  Empire 
of  France,  for  it 
rivals  the  African 
in  extent  and  sur- 
passes it  in  popu- 
lation. We  scarcely  realize  that  France  controls  vast  ter- 


AN  ALGERIAN  PATIO 


18 


2/4 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ALGERIAN  STREET 


ritories  in  the  East.  Her  Indo-Chinese  possessions  com- 
prise Annam,  Tonking,  Cambodia,  Laos,  and  Cochin-China. 

while  in  Siam  French  influ- 
ence is  dominant. 

The  name  “Cambodia” 
has  always  suggested  to  me 
a land  like  those  in  which 
authors  lay  the  scenes  of  Ori- 
ental comic  operas  ; and  judg- 
ing from  a fragment  of  that 
unfamiliar  country,  no  more 
appropriate  background  could 
be  selected  for  an  extrava- 
ganza. A stairway  steep  as 
Jacob’s  ladder,  bordered  by 
fantastic  dragons,  leads  to  a 
temple  in  red  and  gold,  sur- 
mounted by  a yellowish  mina- 


CLICK  I 


SADA  YACCO  IN  HER  REMARKABLE  DEATH-SCENE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


2 77 


PICTURESQUE  ATTRACTIONS 

ret.  As  we  climb,  we  hear  the  music  of  the  tinkly  temple 
bells,  suspended  from  the  angles  of  the  eaves.  Below  the 


TUNISIAN  BAZAAR 


278 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


temple  is  a capacious  grotto,  apparently  hollowed  in  the  heart 
of  a Cambodian  mountain.  Tremendous  visages  of  unknown 
gods  worshiped  by  the  ancient  races  of  Cambodia  glower 
upon  the  intruder,  as  he  descends  the  marvelous  spiral  stair- 
way, leading  into  that  sculptured  subterranean  sanctuary. 
Other  gods  bearing  a family  resemblance  to  the  buried 
deities  are  found  in  the  surrounding  gardens.  So  perfectly 


PANORAMA  OF  MARCHAND’S  MARCH 


THE  CAMBODIAN  TEMPLE 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


281 


has  the  aspect  of 
extreme  age  been 
simulated  that  the 
trees  of  the  Tro- 
cadero  seem  to 
hold  the  idols  in 
a close  snake-like 
embrace.  We  do 
not  have  time 
even  to  glance  at 
the  other  colo- 
nies, the  French 
Indies,  Marti- 
nique, Dahomey, 
Sudan,  or  Sene- 
gal, for  we  must 
hasten  on  to  An- 


INDO-CHINA 


282 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


dalusia,  if  we  would  see  Spain  as  it  was  be- 
fore the  Moors  were  conquered  and  cast 
out.  We  see  the  cavaliers  of  King 
Boabdil  pitted  against  Spanish  knights 
in  gallant  tournaments  ; we  rest  in 
patios  where,  confined  by  lacelike 
arches,  the  famous  lions  of  the  Al- 
hambra stand  at  bay  ; we  drink  deli- 
cious Moorish  coffee  to  the  music  of 
Moroccan  instruments  ; and  then,  to 
wind  up  the  visit  gaily,  we  crowd  into 
a gorgeous  open-air  theater  and  applaud 
the  dashing  Gypsy  dancers  from  Granada, 
and  finally,  with  tired  eyes,  and  ears  also 
in  need  of  rest,  we  turn  from  these  pictur- 
esque attractions  and  seek  repose  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  fountains  of  the  Trocadero. 

From  the  east  tower  of  the  Palace  of  the  Trocadero  we 
may  enjoy  splen- 
did views  of  the 
Exposition.  The 
Seine  curves  to- 
ward the  east, 
bordered  by  the 
War  Palace  and 
the  Street  of  Na- 
tions on  one  side 
and  Old  Paris  and 
the  Rue  de  Paris 
on  the  other.  In 
the  distance  a 
white  line  clearly 
marks  the  Es- 
planade des  Inva 


CAMBODIAN  DEITIES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


283 


lides.  Toward  the  west  the  Seine 
rolls  away  between  the  suburbs 
of  Grenelle  and  Passy.  The 
Grands  Hotels  du  Trocaddro  rise 
in  the  middle  distance,  and  the 
Cambodian  Temple  lies  in  the 
foreground,  half  encircled  by  the 
right  arm  of  the  Trocadero  gal- 
lery. Toward  the  south  the  view 
a stranger  in  a strange  land  is  bisected  vertically  by  the  Eiffel 

Tower  and  horizontally  by  a broad  canal-like  section  of  the 
Seine.  Across  the  Seine,  at  the  end  of  the  Bridge  of  Jena, 
are  the  palaces  of  navigation  and  the  fisheries  and  forestry 
pavilions.  Beyond  the  Eiffel  Tower  in  the  Champ  de  Mars 
are  the  vastest  buildings  of  the  Exposition,  and  far  away 
upon  the  right  is  the  Big  Wheel  of  Paris. 

Beyond  the  wheel  lies  the  Swiss  Village.  Let  us  go 
thither  at  once  lest  amid  the  multiplicity  of  things  to  do  we 


FRENCH  INDIES 


284 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ANDALUSIA  IN  THE  TIME  OF  THE  MOORS 


omit  a visit  to  this  remote  and  interesting  valley.  William 
Tell’s  Chapel,  in  replica,  stands  on  the  shore  of  a tiny  lake 


THE  LIONS  OF  THE  ALHAMBRA 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  W.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 

KING  BOABDIL’S  CAVALIERS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


287 


THE  GIRALDA 

Lucerne,  which  mirrors  dizzy  cliffs  of  artificial  rock.  Steep 
mountain-trails  wind  up  to  chalets  perched  on  the  verge  of 
awful  precipices,  and  lovely  pastoral  valleys  nestle  in  the 
embrace  of  hills  and  ridges  so  deceptively  realistic  that  we 
cannot  believe  that  just  beyond  them  lies,  not  another  peace- 
ful vale,  but  a wilderness  of  tenements  and  factories.  Es- 


WHERE  CASTANETS  RESOUND 


288 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


CASCADES  OF  THE  TROCADERO 


caping  the  watchful  eye  of  the  policeman,  we  climb  the 
fence  and  wander  up  this  tempting  valley,  and  then,  turning, 


SUNDAY  AFTERNOON 


THE  TROCADisRO  GARDENS  AND  THE  CHAMP  DE  MARS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


291 


THE  BIG  WHEEL  OF  PARIS 


we  gaze  up  at  the  beetling  crags,  only  to  find  beyond  an 
Alpine  range,  a startlingly  substantial  “ rainbow  formed  by 
the  periphery  of  the  Big  Wheel.  After  listening  to  the  yodler, 
who  is  answered  by  a Swiss  horn  from  the  hills,  let  us  go 
soaring  away  above  the  peaks  of  Switzerland  in  one  of  the 
swinging  cars  of  the  Grande  Rone  dc  Paris , a brother 
to  the  Ferris  Wheel  that  once  loomed  above  Chicago. 


292 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


IN  THE  SWISS  VILLAGE 

Returning  to  the  Exposition  proper,  we  find  the  Bridge  of 
Jena  thronged  by  the  Sunday  crowds  ; for  Sunday  was  the 


PEACEFUL  VALES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


293 


great  day  for  the  Paris  populace.  During  the  week  the  aver- 
age attendance  was  about  150,000  a day  ; on  Sundays  half  a 
million  people  usually  passed  the  gates,  and  spent  the  day  in 
elbowing  their  way  along  the  esplanades,  squeezing  through 
the  congested  aisles  in  all  the  buildings,  and  finally  closed 
their  restful  outing  with  a long,  frantic  struggle  to  get  aboard 
an  omnibus-boat  on  the  Seine.  At  six  in  the  afternoon,  the 


WILLIAM  TELL’S  CHAPEL 


294 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


THE  TROCADERO 

old  women  in  black.  These  women  would  make  wonderful 
detectives  ; they  seem  to  know  by  instinct  when  any  one 
sits  down  within  a radius  of  half  a block.  On  the  back  of 
every  chair  is  the  name  of  the  firm  controlling  the  conces- 
sion. It  is  “ Allcz  Freres,"  surely  an  unfortunate  title  for 
a firm  whose  only  desire  is  that  people  should  stop  going  and 
sit  down,  for  Allcz  Freres , translated  literally,  is  a fraternal 
command  to  move  on  : “Go,  Brothers  ! 


crowded  pontoons  were  black  with  impatient,  tired,  sight- 
seers. But  on  Sundays  there  was  always  room  in  all  the 
places  where  admission-fees  were  charged,  for  the  Sunday 
public  was  not  lavish  with  its  money.  The  frugal  folk  even 
hesitate  to  sit  down  on  the  yellow  chairs  set  temptingly 
about,  for  they  who  sit,  be  it  but  for  a second,  are  liable 
to  a tax  of  two  cents,  which  is  collected  promptly  by  seedy 


LOOKING  EASTWARD  FROM  THE  TROCADERO 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


297 


We  stop  a mo- 
ment to  observe  the 
Palais  de  la  Fem- 
me. It  is  daintily 
feminine  in  style,  but 
not  in  intent  or  scope 
a duplication  of  the 
Woman’s  Building  at 
Chicago.  It  is  a side- 
show to  which  we  pay 
admission,  instead  of 
a serious  expression 
of  the  progress  of  the 
modern  woman.  An- 
other dainty  structure 
close  at  hand  is  a tiny 

THE  RIGHT  ARM  OF  THE  TROCADERO  , , ...  r . 

domed  pavilion  of  the 
“ Societe  Generale,  ” a banking  enterprise  which  assumed 
the  complex  responsi- 
bilities of  handling 
the  gate  receipts,  not 
only  of  the  Exposi- 
tion, but  also  of  the 
minor  shows  and  at- 
tractions. Its  uni- 
formed officials  col- 
lect the  cash  at  every 
turnstile.  It  is  the 
financial  heart  of  the 
Exposition,  the  organ 
which  keeps  the  gold- 
en blood  in  circula- 
tion. Next  door,  the 
castle  of  the  tiniest 


FROM  THE  TOP  OF  THE  TROCADERO 


298 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


SHUT  IN  BY  TOWERING  CRAGS 

republic  in  the  world  rears  its  proud  battlements  ; for  the 
independent  state  of  San  Marino,  a free  state  in  the  heart  of 


A CLIFF  OF  STAFF 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


299 


monarchic  Italy,  thus  reminds  the  world  of  its  existence. 
There  are  so  many  curious  attractions  assembled  in  the 
shadow  of  the  Eiffel  Tower  that  when  beneath  that  great 
spire  we  scarcely  know  which  way  to  turn.  Towers  and  pin- 
nacles and  domes  of  the  most  varied  and  fantastic  shapes  rise 
in  this  exotic  garden  of  architectural  growths.  There  are  the 
pointed  red  and  yellow  spires  of  the  Siamese  palace,  the  curi- 
ous facade  and  the  dull-red  Japanese  pagoda  of  the  attraction 
called  the  Tour  dti  Monde.  Particularly  pleasing  to  the 
traveler  is  this  panorama  of  the  Tour  Around  the  World. 
The  exterior  of  the  elaborate  structure  suggests  the  joys  of 
Oriental  travel. 

The  pagoda  and 
the  entrance-gate 
carved  in  Japan 
bear  the  stamp  of 
genuineness.  It 
remained  for  this 
money-making 
enterprise  to  in- 
troduce into  Paris 
the  only  worthy 
examples  of  the 
architecture  of 
Japan.  Within 
the  building  we 
find  a huge  ellip- 
tical panorama, 
where  from  a sin- 
gle point  of  view 
the  traveler  sees  a 
series  of  the  most 
charming  views 
that  greet  him  as 


ARTIFICIAL  ALPS 


300 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ON  THE  BRIDGE  OF  JENA 

he  goes  around  the  world.  From  the  Acropolis  the  eye 
wanders  to  Constantinople,  thence  passes  by  Jerusalem  to 


THE  PONT  D*  JENA 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


301 


A PONTON  AT  FIVE  O’CLOCK 

the  Suez  Canal,  and  so  on  to  the  farthermost  east,  the  eye 
being  led  from  land  to  land  without  a shock.  The  vistas 
merge  into  one  another  as  naturally  as  do  the  real  objects  in 
the  foreground  merge  into  the  painted  scene  behind.  A 
novel  feature  is  the  introduction  of  living  people  in  the  fore- 
ground. For  example,  between  us  and  the  section  of  the 


A PONTON  AT  SIX  O’CLOCK 


302 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


St’NDAY  CROWDS 


THE  CHAIRS  OF  ALLEZ  FRERES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


303 


“the  palace  of  the  woman** 


painting  where  Fujiyama  rises,  there  is  a Japanese  tea-house 
as  real  as  it  is  dainty, 
peopled  by  a dozen 
geishas  from  Tokio, 
dressed  in  the  fabrics 
of  Japan.  The  very 
atmosphere  of  Dai 
Nippon  is  there  — the 
house,  the  garden,  the 
people,  and  the  dis- 
tant view  are  purely 
Japanese.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  com- 
position that  is  not 
truthful  and  satisfying 
to  the  lover  of  Japan. 

Another  fragment 
of  a land  I love  was 
found  in  the  Moorish 
section  ; a gate  and 


TURRETS  AND  TOWERS 


304 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


SAM  MARINO 

minaret  from  old  Tangier,  a narrow  street  of  tiny  shops,  a 

bench  where  Moorish 
coffee  may  be  drunk 
amid  the  babel  of 
loud  cries  in  Arabic, 
and  in  the  bazaar  a 
cool  place  of  rest, 
where  we  discover 
two  fine  old  Moorish 
merchants.  We  can- 
not refrain  from  tell- 
ing them  that  we  are 
among  the  few  who 
have  traveled  into 
Morocco,  who  know 
the  gardens  and  the 
streets  of  their  sacred 
city,  Fez.  Then  fol- 
lows a long  conversa- 
tion, in  the  course  of 

EXOTIC  ARCHITECTURAL  GROWTHS 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


307 


A PEACEFUL  VISTA 


which  we  learn  the  most  unwelcome  news,  that  our  old  guide, 
the  irrepressible  and  loyal  friend  of  our  Moorish  wanderings, 
Haj  Abd-er-Rahman  Salama,  will  never  lead  another  caravan 
across  the  roadless  plains,  for  last  year  he  set  out  on  his 
eternal  pilgrimage. 

Among  the  startling  novelties  at  the  Exposition,  perhaps 
the  most  ambitious  was  the  Palais  Lummeux,  a fantastic 
palace,  made  of  opalescent  glass,  within  which  the  arts  of 
diamond-cutting  and  glass-blowing  were  practiced.  By  day 


308 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


THE  ARCH  OF  THE  TOWER 


the  palace  seemed  to  drink  in  light  through  its  translucent, 
tinted  walls,  until  at  nightfall,  saturated  with  luminous  rays, 
it  gave  them  forth  again  to  make  the  darkness  beautiful.  It 
then  appeared  like  an  enchanted  castle  of  the  King  of  Fire- 
flies. The  brilliant  incandescent  marvel  mirrors  itself  in  a 


CARVED  IN  JAPAN 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


309 


small  lake  upon 
the  other  shore  of 
which  is  the  very 
delightful  restau- 
rant of  the  Pa- 
vilion Bleu , with 
terraces  and  bal- 
conies, which  at 
night  are  bathed 
in  a golden  glare. 

Beyond,  framed 
by  the  arch  of  the 
great  Tower,  is 
the  much-adver- 
tised Optical  Pal- 
ace. Very  fortu- 
nately, the  word 
“ optical  ’ ’ sug- 
gests the  word 
“delusion’’  and 
relieves  me  from 

. . r LUMINOUS  PALACE 

the  necessity  of 

using  it.  Externally  it  was  rich  in  promises  of  interest- 
ing scientific  revelations,  but  nothing  seemed  to  work  — 
from  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world,  which  was  not  in 
operation,  down  to  the  luminous  tubes,  which  failed  to 
glow.  The  one  success  of  the  establishment  was  a long 
gallery  lined  with  a score  of  curved  mirrors,  in  which  specta- 
tors saw  themselves  distorted  in  a score  of  laugh-provoking 
ways.  Whenever  we  felt  blue,  we  had  but  to  take  a turn 
with  the  roaring  crowd  up  and  down  that  merry  gallery,  and 
there  indulge  in  comical  reflections.  As  an  economy  of  time, 
we  will  survey  this  section  from  the  Eiffel  Tower.  We  see 
below  the  long  gallery  that  shelters  the  great  telescope,  so  large 


3io  PARIS  EXPOSITION 


that  it  cannot  be  pointed  toward  the  heavens,  but  lies  pros- 
trate like  a cannon 
of  mammoth  propor- 
tions, a huge  mirror 
being  used  to  throw 
the  reflections  of  the 
moon  and  stars  into 
the  horizontal  tube. 
Across  the  Avenue 
Suffren  we  see  the 
tracks  of  the  Termi- 
nal Stations,  to  the 
left  the  Cairo  Street, 
to  the  right  the  Celes- 
tial Globe.  On  the 
right,  just  below  the 
globe,  is  the  success- 


FROM  OLD  TANGIER 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


ECUADOR 


ful  Mareorama,  where 
we  experience  the  illu- 
sion of  a trip  by  sea 
from  Villefranche  to 
Constantinople  ; n e x t 
to  it  on  the  left  is  a 
panorama  of  Algiers, 
and  still  farther  to  the 
left  a tiny  reproduction 
of  Venice,  a rash  at- 
tempt to  crowd  into  nar- 
row space  everything 
of  interest  in  Venice 
from  St.  Mark  ’s  Cathe- 
dral to  the  Grand  Ca- 
nal. Let  us  drop  into 
this  mimic  “ City  of  the 
Doges.’’  Marvelously 
deceptive  at  first  glance 


THE  PAI.ACE  OF  OPTICS 


312 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


is  the  mass  of  reproduced  detail  ; we  recognize  a corner 
of  the  Ducal  Palace,  the  mosaics,  and  the  bronze  horses 
of  San  Marco.  It  is  only  when  we  descend  to  the  Piaz- 
zetta,  and,  standing  by  the  column  of  the  winged  lion, 
gaze  toward  the  island  of  St.  George  painted  on  a canvas, 
twenty  feet  away,  that  we  realize  the  complete  absurdity  of 
this  attempt  to  apply  tight-lacing  to  the  Queen  of  the  Adriatic. 


THE  EXPOSITION  TERMINAL  STATION 


Once  more  let  us  employ  the  Eiffel  Tower  as  our  photo- 
graphic tripod.  We  find  it  convenient  ; for  although  cam- 
eras are  admitted  free,  there  is  a tax  of  five  dollars  daily  for 
the  use  of  tripods  in  the  grounds.  A curious  photographic 
map  of  the  section  round  the  base  of  the  tower  was  made 
by  pointing  the  camera  directly  toward  the  center  of  the 
earth.  The  vista  of  the  Champ  de  Mars  from  the  summit, 
about  1,000  feet  above  the  earth,  is  curious,  if  not  inspiring. 
A long  expanse  of  grass  and  gravel  stretches  between  the  two 
extensive  lateral  palaces,  and  terminates  at  the  monumental 


PARIS  EXPOSITION  3 » 3 


ChAteau  d’  Eau  or  the 
Water  Castle,  beyond 
which  we  see  the  roof  of 
a tremendous  building 
left  over  from  the  Expo- 
sition of  1889.  The  Mili- 
tary School  beyond  looks 
like  a barrack  for  toy- 
soldiers. 

Although  we  may  speak 
of  the  Palaces  of  Agri- 
culture, of  Mining,  and 
of  Electricity,  they  are 
in  reality  sections  of  one 
vast  palace  in  the  form 
of  a gigantic  letter  E. 

Far  more  attractive  is  the 
same  view  from  a lower  story 


THE  COLUMN  OF  THE  WINGED  LION 

of  the  tower.  The  long  fa- 
cades of  the  great 
buildings  assume 
truer  proportions. 
The  fountain  begins 
to  assert  its  magni- 
tude and  dignity,  and 
crowns  itself  with  a 
colossal  diadem  of 
filigree  upon  which 
the  star  of  light  is 
balanced  like  a glit- 
tering gem,  waiting 
the  evening  touch  of 
electric  rays  ; and  the 
chimneys  show  their 
unrivaled  altitude. 


A FRAGMENT  OF  SAN  MARCO 


314 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


lavished  on  these  portals,  which  are  best  described  as  bubble 
buildings  blown  for  a day.  The  pendant  to  this  portal  is  at 
the  angle  of  the  Palace  of  Mines  and  Metallurgy.  The  same 
seeking  after  queer,  extravagant  effects  is  manifested  here. 
But  although  our  artistic  digestion  is  almost  ruined  by  this 
overdose  of  architectural  pastry,  our  palates  are  continually 
tickled  by  new  flavors,  and  we  continue  to  nibble  at  this 
pretty  but  unwholesome  gingerbread.  Another  tempting  bite 
is  offered  by  a slice  of  decorated  layer-cake.  It  is  the 


To  study  these  things  at  closer  range,  let  us  descend  to 
earth  in  one  of  the  big  elevators  that  glide  amid  the  metal 
network  of  the  Eiffel  Tower.  Near  the  “ left  hind  leg  ” of 
the  tower  stands  the  entrance  to  the  Palace  of  Arts,  Letters, 
and  Sciences.  It  illustrates  the  modern  tendency  of  Gallic 
architects  away  from  the  dignified  and  beautiful  toward  the 
fussy  and  the  frivolous.  Masses  of  delightful  detail  are 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


3i7 


entrance  to  the  Trans- 
portation Building. 

Appropriately  the  in- 
terminable balconies 
under  the  high  arcades 
are  occupied  by  res- 
taurants, and  on  the 
ground  floor  there  are 
miles  of  cafe  tables. 

Behind  us  is  the  en- 
trance to  the  hall  of 
silks  and  gowns,  in 
which  the  art  of  the 
weavers  of  Lyons  and 
the  art  of  the  dress- 
makers of  the  Rue  de 
la  Paix  are  gloriously 
represented.  The  va- 
rious gowns  displayed 
are  indescribably  artistic,  sinfully  costly,  and  almost  too 


MINES  AND  METALLURGY 


3 1 S 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


“BUBBLE  BUILDINGS  BLOWN  FOR  A DAY” 


beautiful  to  wear,  but  I dare  not  let  you  enter,  gowns  are  too 
absorbing  to  ladies  — we  should  not  be  permitted  to  resume 
our  promenade.  Moreover,  man  should  not  attempt  to  talk 
of  dresses,  and  mere  photographs  could  not  do  justice  to  the 

vestments  of  the  wax- 
en goddesses,  con- 
fined in  the  glass  cases 
of  Felix,  Worth,  Pa- 
quin,  and  other  mas- 
ters of  the  daintiest 
and  most  ephemeral 
of  arts. 

Therefore  we  must 
drown  our  disappoint- 
ment in  the  Agricul- 
tural Palace,  where 
the  Temple  of  Cham- 
pagne offers  unusual 
facilities  for  submerg- 
ing sorrows  in  the 

ARTS,  LETTERS,  AND  SCIENCES 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


319 


sparkling  vintage  of  the  Province  of  the  Grape  fiar  excel- 
lence. It  may  be  suspected  that  the  architect  of  this  hilarious 
pavilion  subsisted  on  the  produce  of  the  vine  while  working 
out  the  details  of  his  plan.  On  the  main  floor  and  balcony 
are  grapevines  and  arbors  and  plaster  figures  of  sturdy,  hard- 
working peasants  ; these  typify  the  cause.  High  above  are 
popping  corks,  brim- 
ming glasses,  and  a 
plastic  saturnalia,  all 
of  which  illustrates 
with  fearful  vividness 
the  inevitable  effect. 

So,  fleeing  from  temp- 
tation, let  us  embark 
upon  a medieval  car- 
avel, a reproduction 
of  the  vessel  that 
carried  to  France 
from  the  Indies  the 


INTERMINABLE  GALLERIES 


320 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


SILKS  AND  GOWNS 


first  samples  of  cocoa,  and  thus  gave  rise  to  the  grow- 
ing chocolate  industry. 


The  greater  part  of  the  agricultural  section  is  dedicated  to 
the  bibulous  god,  Bacchus.  Every  vine-producing  region 
has  erected  here  a replica  of  some  chateau  or  castle,  the 


A BACK-DOOR  OF  THE  EXPOSITION 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


321 


A MONUMENTAL  CHIMNEY 

and  behind  this 
aggregation  of 
quaint  structures, 
which  we  des- 
ignate “Alcohol- 
opolis,  ’ ’ rise  the 
facades  of  the 
enormous  festal 
hall,  the  Salle 
des  Fetes , a mar- 
velous triumph  of 
the  structural  and 
decorative  arts. 

It  is  one  of 
the  marvels  of  the 
Exposition.  A 
sky  of  glass  hangs 


name  of  which  appears  on 
every  wine  list  in  the  world. 
We  are  at  first  surprised  to 
learn  that  Burgundy,  Bor- 
deaux, Champagne,  Medoc, 
Margaux,  and  Cognac  are 
places,  and  not  merely  wines. 
We  have  never  fully  realized 
that  there  are  people  who 
actually  live  in  Champagne, 
bathe  in  Bordeaux,  and  go 
to  bed  in  Cognac.  Beyond 


21 


322 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


over  the  wooden 
desert  of  a floor, 
so  vast  that  we 
almost  hesitate  to 
venture  out  upon 
it.  Four  tribunes, 
broad  as  moun- 
tain slopes,  rise  in 
the  four  corners, 
and  a stairway 
like  a terraced 
glacier  pours  a 
flood  of  steps 
down  through  an 
intervening  val- 
ley. The  colors 
of  the  sunset  and 
the  sunrise  glow 
in  the  pictured 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURAL  SECTION 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau,  Phila. 

A STRUCTURAL  MARVEL 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


325 


skies  of  high-set  mural 
decorations,  and  the 
glare  of  noon  falls  in 
a shaft  of  brilliance 
from  the  crystal  zenith. 
There  are  statues  and 
paintings  sufficient  to 
equip  a gallery  of  art 
lost  in  the  vastness  of 
this  Salle  de  Fetes . 

Mounting  the  monu- 
mental stairway,  the 
visitor  enters  the  Hall 
of  Electrical  illusions, 
fit  throne-room  for  a 
fairy  queen.  The  six 
surrounding  arches, 
span.sh  agricultural  section  supported  by  translu- 

cent,  opalescent  columns,  serve  as  frames  for  six  gigantic 


JAPANESE  AGRICULTURAL  SECTION 


326 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


mirrors,  each  reflecting  the  reflections  of  the  other,  until  the 
illusion  of  measureless  vastness  holds  the  spectator  spell- 
bound. Every  second  the  colors  change.  Arches  of  smolder- 
ing blue  flare  out  in  fiery  red  ; the  soft  green  of  the  columns 
turns  to  golden  yellow  ; or  the  dim  silvery  glimmer  of  the 
festooned  pearls  suddenly  bursts  into  a dazzling  glare  like 
that  of  molten  metal.  This  is  the  signal  for  an  explosion  of 
luminosity  that  fairly  stuns  our  optic  nerves.  It  is  as  if  a 

universe  of  tiny  noonday  suns 
had  suddenly  enveloped  us. 

This  magical  apartment 
serves  as  a vestibule  of  honor 
to  the  Salle  de  Fetes,  on  the 


THE  CHOCOLATE  CARAVEL 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


327 


44  ALCOHOLOPOLIS  ** 

occasion  of  official  ceremonies,  such  as  the  Presentation  of 
the  Awards  and 
Medals.  On  fes- 
tal days  troops 
line  the  broad 
avenue  of  the 
Champ  de  Mars, 
and  present  arms 
as  statesmen,  dip- 
lomats, princes, 
and  presidents  ap- 
proach the  en- 
trance. No  less 
than  20,000  spec- 
tators find  seats 
within  the  Salle 
de  Fetes  on  these 


THE  HALL  OF  ILLUSIONS 


328 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


I.E  CHATEAU  D’  BAU 


occasions  ; other  scores  of  thousands  were  kept  at  a respect- 
ful distance  by  a large  contingent  of  the  garrison  of  Paris. 

The  crowning  architectural  feature  of  the  Champ  de  Mars 
is  the  Chateau  d'  Eau  ; behind  it  rises  the  facade  of  the 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


329 


Palais  dc.  V Electricity,  with  its  diadem  of  steel  and  glass, 
above  which,  balanced  like  the  chief  jewel  of  a tiara,  gleams 
the  Star  of  Electricity.  The  Palace  of  Electricity  was  the 
soul  of  the  Exposition  ; from  it  went  forth  along  the  myriad, 
endless  nerves  of  wire  the  thrills  that  gave  it  life  and  light 
and  motion.  Yet  without  water  there  would  be  no  steam, 
no  power,  and  no  electricity.  The  fountain,  therefore,  is 
not  wholly  ornamental  ; the  waters  of  the  jets,  cascades, 


THE  “WATER  CASTLE” 


and  pools,  flowing  in  such  graceful  wastefulness,  will  return 
to  serve  a serious  utilitarian  purpose  in  the  boilers  of  the 
great  machinery  hall.  At  night  multitudes  gather  in  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  awaiting  the  spectacle  of  the  illumination  of 
the  “Water  Palace  ’’  and  the  “Fire  Palace."  A sudden 
burst  of  brilliance  and  we  behold  the  apotheosis  of  electricity. 
The  terraced  pools  within  the  grotto  are  rimmed  with  lines 
of  fire,  over  which  flow  cascades  of  liquid  flame.  The  jew- 


330 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


eled  diadem  stands  out  against  the  sky  like  a tiara  of  opals 
upon  a background  of  black  velvet.  The  Genius  of  Elec- 
tricity, guiding  her  snowy  horses,  appears  to  have  come 
rushing  through  the  night,  followed  by  an  incandescent  star, 
until,  smitten  by  a shaft  of  white  light  shot  from  the  Eiffel 
Tower  's  top,  she  has  reined  in  her  rearing  steeds,  and,  with 
her  attendant  planet,  alighted  on  the  crest  of  this  colossal 


ORNATE  DETAILS 


From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm.  H.  Rau.  Phila. 


THE  CROWNING  FEATURE  OF  THE  CHAMP  DE  MARS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


333 


CASCADES  AND  JETS 


coronet  of  fire.  But  no  words  can  describe  these  changing 
lights  and  pulsing  waves  of  color.  We  say  that  the  crown  is 
brilliant  with  the  glare  of  rubies  ; and,  ere  the  words  are 

the  rubies  are  transformed  into 
jphires.  The  emeralds  that 
a moment  since  gleamed 


TINTED  FOUNTAINS 


334 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


THE  CHATEAU  d’EAU  AT  NIGHT 


through  the  green-tinted  waters  are 
become  yellow  dia- 
monds or  pinkish 
pearls. 

But  always  and 
unvaryingly  white  as 
marble,  the  Electric 
Spirit  rules  her  pranc- 
ing steeds  and  holds 
the  beacon  star,  like 
a fixed  planet  high 
above  the  chaotic  riot 
of  color.  Meantime 
the  rainbows,  arching 
in  the  spray,  play 
Beethoven  sympho- 
nies ; in  the  grotto 
strong  color  masses 
build  up  Wagnerian 
themes;  and,  high 

above,  the  glowing  From  photograph,  copyright  1900,  by  Wm,  H.  Rau,  Phila. 


ARTIFICIAL  GEYSERS 


PARIS  EXPOSITION 


335 


harps  and  lyres  are  touched  by  fiery  fingers  and  give  forth  the 
dainty  tripping  melodies  of  Mozart.  And  the  eye  listens  to 
this  color  music , finding  in  it  a new  sensation,  a new  pleas- 
ure, and  a promise  of  an  art  for  which  as  yet  there  is  no  name. 
But  the  art  of  color-music  is  not  new,  the  western  skies  have 
practiced  it  for  ages.  The  clouds  and  mists  and  the  ether 
and  the  sunshine  have  played  an  evening  color  symphony  at 


THE  EIFFEL  CONSTELLATION  AND  A TRI-TAILED  COMET 


1 


336  PARIS  EXPOSITION 


the  close  of  every  day  since  the  old  earth  was  born.  The 
crowds,  however,  like  children,  prefer  the  artificial  to  the 
real.  Spectators,  who  have  looked  unmoved  upon  the 
glories  of  the  western  skies,  turn,  with  ecstatic  admiration,  to 
those  chromatic  harmonies,  waked  by  the  magical  musician 
of  the  future,  — Electricity  ! 

We  stand  upon  the  threshold  of  the  Age  of  Electricity  — 
the  Age  of  Light. 

The  Universal  Exposition  of  Paris  commemorates  the 
close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  Age  of  Steam.  And  as 
we  look  by  night  upon  the  Wonder-City  of  1900,  we  see  the 
Eiffel  Tower,  ablaze  with  electrical  incandescence,  pointing 
like  a prophetic  finger  toward  a radiant  future  — a future  in 
which  the  Light  of  Science  and  the  Light  of  Knowledge  shall 
be  uni versal  — a future  which  shall 

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